Frequency Gun Research Articles

Study on the pressure wave characteristics of bubbles in low frequency, high pressure, and large capacity air guns

Study on the pressure wave characteristics of bubbles in low frequency, high pressure, and large capacity air guns

Supression of shielding effect of large area field emitter cathode in radio frequency gun environment

Abstract Utilisation of large area field emitters (LAFE) cathodes for rf gun injector hold promise for delivering compact, high power and high brightness electron beam for advanced accelerator technologies. LAFEs subjected to DC electric fields posses significant challenges due to the shielding effect which restricts emission from central emitters and decreases the overall current density. Mitigating the shielding effect of LAFE in rf gun environment is essential for meeting the desired beam quality requirement in an accelerator. The current distribution of LAFE under DC conditions depend on its various geometrical parameters such as emitter height, inter-emitter distance, aspect ratio, number of emitters. Additionally, in rf gunsetup, LAFEs are subjected to variable macroscopic electric field at different emitter position which can potentially alter the current distribution compared to DC fields. In this work, we have systematically studied the shielding effect properties of LAFE in rf gun environment under the influence of various LAFE parameters. A semi-analytical approachhas been adopted to estimate the current distribution which combines the analytically calculated field enhancement factor (γ) and numerically calculated applied rf field values. This new methodology was first validated using COMSOL simulation and then employed for field emission performance estimation of a LAFE cathode integrated in a½ cell S-band (2856 MHz) rf gun. The simulation results reveals that under favourable conditions, a Gaussian spatial distribution of beam can be obtained from LAFE thus countering the shielding effect typical in DC fields. By optimizing the LAFE parameters, the desired current and beam distribution pattern can be achieved. This study highlights the adoption of a promising approach for designing LAFE cathodes suitable for rf gun which can lead to advancement of field emission technologies for accelerator-related applications.

Generation of UV Ellipsoidal Pulses by 3D Amplitude Shaping for Application in High-Brightness Photoinjectors

Photocathode laser pulse shaping is a crucial technology for enhancing the performance of X-ray free-electron lasers by optimizing the quality of electron beams generated from photocathodes within high-gradient radio frequency guns. By precisely shaping these laser pulses, it is possible to significantly reduce the transverse emittance of produced electron bunches. The optimal pulse shape is an ellipsoidal distribution, commonly referred to as the Kapchinskij–Vladimirskij profile. A pulse-shaping scheme utilizing a commercial Yb:KGW laser operating at 514 nm with a repetition rate of 1 MHz and duration of 260 fs has been developed for generating electron bunches with high peak and average power. This study presents the experimental realization of ellipsoidal pulses via three-dimensional amplitude shaping using spatial light modulators at 514 nm, followed by conversion to UV (257 nm) suitable for Cs 2Te photocathodes. The preservation of pulse shape and a high conversion efficiency during this process are investigated and our experiments pave the way for future emittance minimization for X-ray free-electron lasers.

High energy electron diffraction instrument with tunable camera length.

Ultrafast electron diffraction (UED) stands as a powerful technique for real-time observation of structural dynamics at the atomic level. In recent years, the use of MeV electrons from radio frequency guns has been widely adopted to take advantage of the relativistic suppression of the space charge effects that otherwise limit the temporal resolution of the technique. Nevertheless, there is not a clear choice for the optimal energy for a UED instrument. Scaling to beam energies higher than a few MeV does pose significant technical challenges, mainly related to the inherent increase in diffraction camera length associated with the smaller Bragg angles. In this study, we report a solution by using a compact post-sample magnetic optical system to magnify the diffraction pattern from a crystal Au sample illuminated by an 8.2 MeV electron beam. Our method employs, as one of the lenses of the optical system, a triplet of compact, high field gradients (>500 T/m), small-gap (3.5 mm) Halbach permanent magnet quadrupoles. Shifting the relative position of the quadrupoles, we demonstrate tuning the magnification by more than a factor of two, a 6× improvement in camera length, and reciprocal space resolution better than 0.1 Å-1 in agreement with beam transport simulations.

Study of crystalline scintillator response with development of single-electron beam of 2–6 MeV at KU-FEL

ABSTRACT A single-electron measurement technique is developed at the Kyoto University Free Electron Laser (KU-FEL) facility, and the responses of crystalline scintillators to electrons of 2–6 MeV are investigated. Precise control of the thermionic cathode of the radio frequency gun and the bending magnet allow a low-intensity monoenergetic electron beam to be produced for single-electron measurements. The pulse-height distributions and energy proportionalities are measured for three scintillators (PWO, LaBr3:Ce, and LYSO:Ce). The shapes of the observed pulse-height distributions almost match those of deposited energy distributions calculated by Monte Carlo simulations, thereby making it possible to deduce the energy deposition to the detectors, and all the scintillators show good proportionalities.

Photoemission characterization of N-polar III-nitride photocathodes as candidate bright electron beam sources for accelerator applications

We report on the growth and characterization of a new class of photocathode structures for use as electron sources to produce high brightness electron beams for accelerator applications. The sources are realized using III-nitride materials and are designed to leverage the strong polarization field, which is characteristic of this class of materials when grown in their wurtzite crystal structure, to produce a negative electron affinity condition without the use of Cs, possibly allowing these materials to be operated in radio frequency guns. A Quantum Efficiency (QE) of about 1×10−3 and an emitted electrons’ Mean Transverse Energy (MTE) of about 100 meV are measured at a wavelength of 265 nm. In a vacuum level of 3×10−10 Torr, the QE does not decrease after more than 24 h of continuous operation. The lowest MTE of about 50 meV is measured at 300 nm along with a QE of 1.5×10−5. Surface characterizations reveal a possible contribution to the MTE from surface morphology, calling for more detailed studies.

Commissioning the photocathode radio frequency gun: a candidate electron source for Hefei Advanced Light Facility

Commissioning the photocathode radio frequency gun: a candidate electron source for Hefei Advanced Light Facility

Analysis of slice transverse emittance evolution in a very-high-frequency gun photoinjector

Emittance is a key figure-of-merit for high brightness electron beams that enable the success of a broad range of modern accelerator-based instruments. With the successful implementation of the emittance compensation scheme and beam-shaping techniques to align each temporal beam slice in phase space, slice emittance starts to play a more dominating role in determining the beam quality. In this paper, we develop an approach, combining simulations and analytical calculations, to systematically study the evolution of the slice emittance in a very high frequency gun photoinjector, which is under intense R worldwide for driving the next generation continuous-wave accelerators. Our approach is capable of tracing various sources that introduce curvature in the transverse phase space, corresponding to the growth of the slice emittance. It is shown that nonlinear transverse space charge forces in the vicinity of cathodes and the spherical aberration of the focusing solenoid are the main sources of nonlinear forces, while in a long drift section space charge forces can actually compensate for nonlinear transverse position-momentum correlations and hence recover the emittance. We further demonstrate that the sources of nonlinearities can be controlled by tailoring the transverse beam density profile and the design of solenoid lenses.

Review of Superconducting Radio Frequency Gun

Review of Superconducting Radio Frequency Gun

Long lifetime of bialkali photocathodes operating in high gradient superconducting radio frequency gun

High brightness, high charge electron beams are critical for a number of advanced accelerator applications. The initial emittance of the electron beam, which is determined by the mean transverse energy (MTE) and laser spot size, is one of the most important parameters determining the beam quality. The bialkali photocathodes illuminated by a visible laser have the advantages of high quantum efficiency (QE) and low MTE. Furthermore, Superconducting Radio Frequency (SRF) guns can operate in the continuous wave (CW) mode at high accelerating gradients, e.g. with significant reduction of the laser spot size at the photocathode. Combining the bialkali photocathode with the SRF gun enables generation of high charge, high brightness, and possibly high average current electron beams. However, integrating the high QE semiconductor photocathode into the SRF guns has been challenging. In this article, we report on the development of bialkali photocathodes for successful operation in the SRF gun with months-long lifetime while delivering CW beams with nano-coulomb charge per bunch. This achievement opens a new era for high charge, high brightness CW electron beams.

Photoemission studies of yttrium photocathodes by using the visible radiation

The present work reports on Yttrium based photocathodes. A Yttrium (Y) thin film is deposited via pulsed laser deposition (PLD) on the copper (Cu) back flange of a radio frequency (rf) gun for photocathode application. Because of a lower work function with respect to Cu, Y photocathodes are particularly appealing for the possibility to illuminate them with visible laser pulses, with the advantage of a higher energy per pulse, paving the way to high repetition rate photoinjectors, driven by conventional laser sources. In addition, working at $\ensuremath{\lambda}\ensuremath{\sim}400\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{nm}$ the small energy difference between the Y work function (about 3 eV) and the laser photon energy reduces the contribution of the intrinsic emittance of the material. Photoelectrons, emitted by the thin film Y photocathode driven by the second harmonic of a Ti:Sapphire laser, have been characterized in terms of quantum efficiency and transverse emittance. Results have been compared with the theoretical ones obtained by the three-step model of Spicer for metallic photocathodes.

Thermionic microwave gun for terahertz and synchrotron light sources.

Conventional thermionic microwave and radio frequency (RF) guns can offer high average beam current, which is important for synchrotron light and terahertz (THz) radiation source facilities, as well as for industrial applications. For example, the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory is a national synchrotron-radiation light source research facility that utilizes thermionic RF guns. However, these existing thermionic guns are bulky, difficult to handle and install, easily detuned, very sensitive to thermal expansion, and due for a major upgrade and replacement. In this paper, we present the design of a new, more stable, and reliable gun with optimized electromagnetic performance, improved thermal engineering, and a more robust cathode mounting technique, which is a critical step to improve the performance of existing and future light sources, industrial accelerators, and electron beam-driven THz sources. We will also present a fabricated gun prototype and show results of high-power and beam tests.

Breaking 50 Femtosecond Resolution Barrier in MeV Ultrafast Electron Diffraction with a Double Bend Achromat Compressor.

We propose and demonstrate a novel scheme to produce ultrashort and ultrastable MeV electron beam. In this scheme, the electron beam produced in a photocathode radio frequency (rf) gun first expands under its own Coulomb force with which a positive energy chirp is imprinted in the beam longitudinal phase space. The beam is then sent through a double bend achromat with positive longitudinal dispersion where electrons at the bunch tail with lower energies follow shorter paths and thus catch up with the bunch head, leading to longitudinal bunch compression. We show that with optimized parameter sets, the whole beam path from the electron source to the compression point can be made isochronous such that the time of flight for the electron beam is immune to the fluctuations of rf amplitude. With a laser-driven THz deflector, the bunch length and arrival time jitter for a 20fC beam after bunch compression are measured to be about 29fs (FWHM) and 22fs (FWHM), respectively. Such an ultrashort and ultrastable electron beam allows us to achieve 50 femtosecond (FWHM) resolution in MeV ultrafast electron diffraction where lattice oscillation at 2.6THz corresponding to Bismuth A_{1g} mode is clearly observed without correcting both the short-term timing jitter and long-term timing drift. Furthermore, oscillating weak diffuse scattering signal related to phonon coupling and decay is also clearly resolved thanks to the improved temporal resolution and increased electron flux. We expect that this technique will have a strong impact in emerging ultrashort electron beam based facilities and applications.

Demonstration of transport of a patterned electron beam produced by diamond pyramid cathode in an rf gun

We have demonstrated generation and transport of a patterned electron beam from a Diamond Field-Emitter Array (DFEA) cathode in a radio frequency (rf) gun. DFEAs are arrays of micrometer-scale pyramids with nanometer-scale tips. They can be fabricated with base widths ranging from 3 μm to 25 μm and pitches as small as 5 μm. They have an inherent 1:0.7 base to height ratio. DFEAs operate as field-emitter cathodes and potentially produce intrinsically shaped electron beams, which are of interest for a number of accelerator applications. We report on the results of a recent experiment in which a beam, consisting of several beamlets, was produced from a DFEA cathode in an rf gun and transported 2.54 m along a beam line. A macrobunch charge of 60 pC was measured at a cathode field gradient of 15.1 MV/m.

In situ annealing of photocathodes using backside electron-beam irradiation

Metal and metal-compound photocathodes are generally used as electron sources in radio frequency (RF) guns. These photocathodes are robust against laser irradiation and RF fields, are easy to handle, and have longevity. The surface cleaning of photocathodes is essential to improve and maintain their quantum efficiency (QE) in an RF gun cavity. In this paper, we propose a backside electron-beam irradiation heating technique as an in situ surface-cleaning procedure for photocathodes in an RF gun cavity. In the proposed technique, thermal electrons accelerated by a DC electric field are irradiated from the back of the photocathode, and their beam power is converted to heat, thereby heating the photocathode. Unlike other surface-cleaning techniques, surfaces of any cathode shape can be cleaned uniformly using this heating method. We designed and developed a cathode plug that includes the proposed heating system for large-diameter (~8 mm) photocathodes. Thermal simulation of the entire system, including the photocathode and its holding structure, and RF simulation of the choke structure for preventing the leakage of RF power were performed. The developed heating system was installed in an RF gun in High Energy Accelerator Research Organization KEK and subjected to RF aging and beam commissioning. From the results of beam commissioning, it was found that the QE of the photocathode increased to approximately 2.5 times the initial value due to the in situ annealing in the RF gun cavity.

High-brightness beam tests of the very high frequency gun at the Advanced Photo-injector EXperiment test facility at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

The very-high-frequency gun (VHF-Gun) is a new concept photo-injector developed and built at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) for generating high-brightness electron beams capable of driving X-ray free electron lasers (FELs) at MHz-class repetition rates. The gun that purposely uses established and mature radiofrequency and mechanical technologies has demonstrated over the last many years the capability of reliably operating in continuous wave mode at the design accelerating fields and required vacuum and mechanical performance. The results of VHF-Gun technology demonstration were reported elsewhere [Sannibale et al., Phys. Rev. Spec. Top.-Accel. Beams 15, 103501 (2012)]; here in this paper, we provide and analyze examples of the experimental results of the first high-brightness beam tests performed at the Advanced Photo-injector EXperiment test facility at LBNL that demonstrated the gun capability of delivering the beam quality required for driving high repetition rate X-ray FELs.

Analytical model and simulation of the Schottky effect on a cryo-cooled bialkali photocathode

A bialkali photocathode with the quantum efficiency (QE) in the range of a few percent was fabricated for the 704 MHz SRF gun at Brookhaven National Laboratory. The photoemission properties of the bialkali photocathode in the superconducting radio frequency (SRF) gun were measured for the first time, and a good beam experiment result was obtained. The performance of the bialkali photocathode was investigated during the commissioning process of the 704 MHz SRF gun. The effect of electric field on the QE of the cryo-cooled cathode was characterized by an analytical model and a code for the first time.

Charge production studies from [formula omitted] photocathodes in a normal conducting RF gun

This work discusses the behavior of electron bunch charge produced in an L-band normal conducting radio frequency gun from Cs2Te photocathodes illuminated with ps-long UV laser pulses and presumed homogeneous flattop laser transverse distribution. The measured charge shows the expected linear dependence in the quantum efficiency limited emission regime at low laser pulse energies. At higher laser pulse energy, the measured charge in the space charge limited emission regime should saturate, assuming an ideal homogeneous flattop laser transverse distribution. However, this behavior is not observed experimentally. Instead of saturating, the measured charge continues to increase with laser pulse energy, albeit with much weaker dependence than in the quantum efficiency limited emission regime. Simulations with the space charge particle tracking code ASTRA show that the charge saturates as expected using a homogeneous flattop laser transverse distribution. The discrepancy between simulations and measured excess charge may be attributed to the presence of unintentional Gaussian-like decaying radial halo beyond the core of the otherwise presumed homogeneous flattop core. The rate of increase of the measured charge at high laser pulse energies seems to be proportional to the amount of halo despite charge saturation in the core of the transverse laser radial profile. By utilizing core + halo particle distributions based on measured radial laser profiles, ASTRA simulations and semi-analytical emission models reproduce the behavior of the measured charge for a wide range of RF gun and laser operational parameters within the measurement uncertainties.

Beam Dynamics Investigation for the Compact Seeded THz-FEL Amplifier

A compact seeded terahertz (THz) free-electron laser (FEL) amplifier is under development at the Institute of Advanced Energy, Kyoto University. The system consists of a 1.6-cell S-band BNL-type photocathode radio frequency (RF) gun, a focusing solenoid magnet, a magnetic bunch compressor, focusing quadrupoles, a short planar undulator and a THz parametric generator for seeding. The accelerator system will generate a high brightness ultra-short electron bunch injected to the short undulator. Since characteristics of the emitted radiation strongly depend on the electron beam properties, the beam dynamics of the system has been investigated. As the result, the system should be operated at the high accelerating voltage of 80 MV/m to avoid the space-charge effect which causes serious bunch lengthening. The laser with the uniform temporal distribution and the injection phase of 12 degree is suitable for the bunch compression in the chicane. This condition provides the electron beam injected to the undulator with the peak current of more than 300 A and the FWHM bunch length of 0.36 ps at the bunch charge of 200 pC.

Investigating the effect of electron emission pattern on RF gun beam quality

Thermionic radio frequency gun is one of the most promising choices to gain a high quality electron beam, used in the infrared free electron lasers and synchrotron radiation injectors. To study the quality of the beam in a compact electron source, the emission pattern effect on the beam dynamics should be investigated. In the presented work, we developed a 3D simulation code to model the real process of thermionic emission and to investigate the effect of emission pattern, by considering geometrical constraints, on the beam dynamics. According to the results, the electron bunch emittance varies considerably with the emission pattern. Simulation results have been validated via comparison with the well-known simulation codes such as ASTRA simulation code and CST microwave studio, as well as other simulation results in the literature. It was also demonstrated that by using a continuous wave laser beam for heating the cathode, the emission pattern full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the transverse emission distribution is proportional to FWHM of the Gaussian profile for the laser beam. Additionally, by using the developed code, the effect of wall structure around the cathode on the back bombardment effect has been studied. According to the results, for a stable operation of the RF gun, one should consider the nose cone in vicinity of the cathode surface to reduce the back-bombardment effect.