Holographic Spectroscopy for Rapid Electron Bunch Analysis: Development of an Instrument with THZ Resolved Optical Gating

Abstract

The main thrust of our project was to apply the concepts of holographic spectroscopy, developed earlier in the visible and near IR spectral regions for satellite mapping, to the THz region in order to measure the spectral signature of the coherent radiation emanating from a relativistic electron bunch to obtain the bunch length itself. There were four major discoveries. (1) In the course of this ground-breaking work we developed and built the first static THz interferometer suitable for the realization of such a holographic Fourier transform spectrometer. Experimental tests and analysis of the observed results have provided the necessary foundation for future development of THz detector arrays optimized for spectroscopic applications. (2) Since such detectors do not exist at the present time our next effort was to find an alternative approach. We explored the electro-optic (EO) detection of the THz pulse using the short pulse of a visible diode laser synchronized to the bunch with the long-term goal aimed at single bunch measurement capability. The main hurdle was found to be the parasitic scattering of the diode radiation in the EO medium. By using the optical Fourier transform of the THz interference pattern the effects of this background were suppressedmore » enough to obtain the spectrum using multiple shot acquisition. During our experiments at the FLASH facility at DESY we determined that for single bunch measurement capability the diode laser has to be able to produce sub 100 ps pulses with peak power of at least 1 W. Since these parameters are quite feasible at the current stage of diode laser science this combination of techniques can be used for single shot measurement of a short electron bunch. (3) In carrying out the above effort a simpler measurement possibility was uncovered involving the visible/nearIR pulse of incoherent radiation produced by the same bunch. This observation made possible the cross-correlation of the THz coherent and visible incoherent radiation and provided the first step in the development of a self contained THz HFTS for rapid electron bunch shape analysis. Our first experiments confirmed the idea and as a side result made possible a completely new bunch length monitor eliminating any need for an external laser since only radiation produced by the bunch itself is involved. A more advanced instrument was designed to use the incoherent visible radiation pulse from the synchrotron source for sampling the THz interference pattern. It has been built and the first tests are to be conducted in April 2011 at the Jefferson FEL facility.« less