Longitudinal Beam Profile Research Articles

Beam Profile Measurement Using the Highly-Oriented Pyrolytic Graphite

The mitigation of heat loading is one of the important issues for beam instrumentation to measure the high-power proton beam. Recently, the highly-oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) material was used for the target probe of the bunch-shape monitor at the front end in the Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex (J-PARC). Since the thermal conductivity of the HOPG is high, it is suitable to measure both transverse and longitudinal beam profiles under the condition of high heat loading. As an application of the HOPG, for example, the thin HOPG may be used as a substitutive material of the target wire for the transverse profile monitor such as the wire scanner monitor. The possibility of the HOPG target for both transverse and longitudinal beam profile monitors is discussed from some results of the test experiment using the 3 MeV negative hydrogen ion beam at the test stand.

Characterisation of a Cs–Implanted Cu Photocathode

The generation of high-brightness electron beams is a crucial area of particle accelerator research and development. Photocathodes which offer high levels of quantum efficiency when illuminated at visible wavelengths are attractive as the drive laser technology is greatly simplified. The higher laser power levels available at longer wavelengths create headroom allowing use of manipulation techniques to optimise the longitudinal and transverse beam profiles, and so minimise electron beam emittance. Bi–alkali photocathodes which offer quantum efficiency ∼ 10 % under illumination at 532 nm are an example of this. Another solution is the use of modified photoemissive surfaces. Caesium has a low work function and readily photoemits when illuminated at green wavelengths (∼532nm). Caesium oxide has an even lower work function and emits at red wavelengths (∼635nm). We present data on our work to create a hybrid copper photocathode surface modified by implantation of caesium ions, measuring the surface roughness and probing its structure using MEIS. We measure the energy spread of photoemitted electrons, the QE as a function of illumination wavelength, and the practicality of this surface as a photocathode by assessing its lifetime on exposure to oxygen.

Status of the development of the electron lens for space charge compensation at GSI

At GSI a prototype electron lens for space charge (SC) compensation is currently being designed and main components as the RF-modulated electron gun are already under commissioning. The goal of this project is the (partial) compensation of SC forces within the ion beam by an overlapping electron beam. This may help to increase the intensity of primary beams, especially in the FAIR facility and potentially all large synchrotrons operated at the SC limit. For an effective SC compensation, the generated electron beam needs to follow the transverse and longitudinal beam profile of the ion bunch structure. The requirements are maximum currents of 10 A and grid modulation to cover a broad frequency range from 400 kHz to 1 MHz. The RF-modulated electron gun was designed and manufactured in the scope of the ARIES collaboration and is currently being tested at the E-Lens Lab of Goethe-University Frankfurt. A dedicated test bench was built for commissioning of the major e-lens components and diagnostics. In this contribution the overall set-up will be presented putting special emphasis on the beam dynamics and collector design as well as simulation results of the electron gun.

Single-shot measurement of longitudinal phase space beam profile in an electron storage ring.

A novel scheme to measure the longitudinal emittance and phase space profile in an electron storage ring by using correlations between time and the vertical coordinate, and between energy and the horizontal coordinate, is proposed. This longitudinal profile measurement scheme will help to demonstrate recent results of advanced studies for manipulating the longitudinal beam profile and for investigating beam instability in an electron storage ring.

Advanced focusing system for secondary electrons in a bunch shape monitor

Measurements of longitudinal beam profile in non-relativistic hadron accelerators are usually performed with Bunch Shape Monitors that utilize secondary electron emission to reproduce the shape of a primary ion beam. The existing devices, however, have poor electron collection efficiency from the wire and are limited to one dimensional measurements of the phase coordinate. In this paper we present the performance improvements for a bunch shape monitor for proton beams used in the Spallation Neutron Source accelerator. These improvements were achieved by adding focusing optics between the wire and the entrance slit, which will also allow measurements over a much higher dynamic range. Here we present the design, simulation and experimental test results of the developed new electron beam guidance system for the existing SNS bunch shape monitor that allowed significant improvement in the collection efficiency.

Longitudinal and transverse spatial beam profile measurement of relativistic electron bunch by electro-optic sampling

Electro-optic (EO) sampling is employed to measure the electric field profiles generated by a relativistic electron bunch along the propagation and in the radial directions. The longitudinal (temporal) profile is investigated by changing the time delay between the electron bunch and the pulsed probe laser, while the transverse (radial) profile is acquired by laterally shifting the path of the electron bunch. Experimental results show good agreement with three-dimensional particle-in-cell calculations. We demonstrated a promising method to simultaneously obtain the longitudinal and transverse beam sizes by utilizing the detected spatio-temporal electric field distribution around the electron bunch.

Demonstration of electron cooling using a pulsed beam from an electrostatic electron cooler

Cooling of hadron beams is critically important in the next generation of hadron storage rings for delivery of unprecedented performance. One such application is the electron-ion collider presently under development in the US. The desire to develop electron coolers for operation at much higher energies than previously achieved necessitates the use of radio-frequency (rf) fields for acceleration as opposed to the conventional, electrostatic approach. While electron cooling is a mature technology at low energy utilizing a dc beam, rf acceleration requires the cooling beam to be bunched, thus extending the parameter space to an unexplored territory. It is important to experimentally demonstrate the feasibility of cooling with electron bunches and further investigate how the relative time structure of the two beams affects the cooling properties; thus, a set of four pulsed-beam cooling experiments was carried out by a collaboration of Jefferson Lab and Institute of Modern Physics (IMP). The experiments have successfully demonstrated cooling with a beam of electron bunches in both the longitudinal and transverse directions for the first time. We have measured the effect of the electron bunch length and longitudinal ion focusing strength on the temporal evolution of the longitudinal and transverse ion beam profile and demonstrate that if the synchronization can be accurately maintained, the dynamics are not adversely affected by the change in time structure.13 MoreReceived 17 July 2020Accepted 18 November 2020DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevAccelBeams.24.012801Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.Published by the American Physical SocietyPhysics Subject Headings (PhySH)Research AreasBeam coolingAccelerators & Beams

Longitudinal current profile reconstruction from a wakefield response in plasmas and structures

Present-day and next-generation accelerators, particularly for applications in driving wakefield-based schemes, require longitudinal beam shaping and attendant longitudinal characterization for experimental optimization. Here we present a diagnostic method which reconstructs the longitudinal beam profile at the location of a wakefield-generating source. The methods presented derive the longitudinal profile of a charged particle beam solely from measurement of the time-resolved centroid energy change due to wakefield effects. The reconstruction technique is based on a deconvolution algorithm that is fully generalizable to any analytically or numerically calculable Green's function for the wakefield excitation mechanism. This method is shown to yield precise features in the longitudinal current distribution reconstruction. We demonstrate the accuracy and efficacy of this technique using simulations and experimental examples, in both plasmas and dielectric structures, and compare to the experimentally measured longitudinal beam parameters as available. The limits of resolution and applicability to relevant scenarios are also examined.

Development of longitudinal beam profile monitor based on Coherent Transition Radiation effect for CLARA accelerator

Coherent Transition Radiation (CTR) has widely been used for longitudinal beam profile diagnostics. Its spectral-spatial properties have been thoroughly theoretically and experimentally investigated. We have decided to develop a longitudinal beam profile diagnostics based on CTR technique to be used for interpreting the experimental results of Dielectric Wakefield Accelerator (DWA) and Coherent Cherenkov Diffraction Radiation (CChDR) experiments. In this paper we present the technical design,tuning and commissioning of the CTR longitudinal bunch profile monitor at CLARA facility.

Development and application of electron beam optical diagnostics for the multi-turn ERL of the Novosibirsk FEL facility

The optical diagnostics system is under development for the multi-turn energy recovery linac (ERL), which is used as a source of electrons for the Novosibirsk free electron laser (FEL) facility. Part of the diagnostic system has already been installed on the last track of the ERL. Its full configuration includes stations for measurement of the transversal and longitudinal electron beam profiles upstream and downstream of the FEL undulators. The stations for measurement of the electron beam energy spread and undulator radiation spectrum are at the stage of installation and commissioning. A radiation power sensor will also be set in the special output radiation line, mounted at an angle to the optical axis of the FEL. The new optical diagnostics is mostly required for fine tuning of the magnet system for electron outcoupling experiments. This paper presents a detailed overview of the new diagnostics and discusses the first results of the transverse beam profile measurements and experiments planned for the near future.

Patient organ doses from megavoltage computed tomography delivery with a helical tomotherapy unit using a general treatment planning system.

The purpose of this study was to quantify actual patient organ doses from megavoltage computed tomography (MVCT) using an MVCT beam model of a helical tomotherapy unit in a general treatment planning system (TPS). Dosimetric parameters (percentage depth dose, lateral beam profile, and longitudinal beam profile) of the MVCT beam were measured using Gafchromic EBT3 films (ISP Corporation, Wayne, NJ, USA) and used for beam modeling in a Pinnacle3 TPS (Philips, Amsterdam, Netherlands); this TPS is widely used with linear accelerators. The created beam model was adjusted and validated by assessing point doses in a cylindrical phantom in static and helical beam plans with fine, normal and coarse pitches. Maximum doses delivered to important organs from MVCT delivery for five clinical cases were calculated using the created beam model. The difference (average ± one standard deviation for all evaluation points) between calculated and measured doses was −0.69 ± 1.20% in the static beam plan. In the helical beam plan, the differences were 1.83 ± 2.65%, 1.35 ± 5.94% and −0.66 ± 8.48% for fine, normal and coarse pitches, respectively. The average maximum additional dose to important organs from MVCT in clinical cases was 0.82% of the prescribed dose. In conclusion, we investigated a method for quantifying patient organ dose from MVCT delivery on helical tomotherapy using an MVCT beam model in a general TPS. This technique enables estimation of the patient-specific organ dose from MVCT delivery, without the need for additional equipment.

Advances in numerical methods under wiggler period averaging for free electron laser simulation

Advances in numerical methods for free-electron-laser (FEL) simulation under wiggler period averaging (WPA) are presented. First, WPA is generalized using the perturbative Lie map method. The conventional WPA is identified as the leading order contribution. Next, the shot-noise model under WPA is improved along with a particle migration scheme across the numerical mesh. The artificial shot noise arising from particle migration is suppressed. The improved model also allows using arbitrary mesh size, slippage resolution, and integration step size. These advances will improve modeling of longitudinal beam profile evolution for fast FEL simulation.

Tensile fracture test of metallic wire of beam profile monitors

In order to mitigate the beam loss during a beam transportation in the high-brilliant accelerator facilities, wire-based profile monitors are used to measure by both transverse and longitudinal beam profiles using wire-scanner monitors and bunch-shape monitors for the tuning of quadrupole magnets and buncher cavities. Signals are generated due to the direct interaction between a metallic wire and beam. We have used the tungsten wire as a high melting-point material by estimation of heat loading during the impact of beam particles. In addition, a spring is applied for the relaxing a flexure under wire’s own weight. A tensile fracture is tested by supplying an electrical current as a simulated beam loading. As the results, we obtained the relation between the thermal limit to fracture and tension loading to a tungsten wire.

Resonant excitation of high order modes in the 3.9 GHz cavity of the Linac Coherent Light Source

Construction of the Linac Coherent Light Source II (LCLS-II) is underway for the world's first hard x-ray free-electron laser. A central part of the LCLS-II project is a 4 GeV superconducting radio frequency electron linac that will operate in the continuous wave (cw) mode. The linac is segmented into four sections named as $L0$, $L1$, $L2$, and $L3$. Two 3.9 GHz cryomodules, each housing of eight third-harmonic cavities similar to the cavities developed for the European X-ray Free Electron Laser (XFEL), will be used in section $L1$ of the linac for linearizing the longitudinal beam profile. In this paper, we present a study of trapped high order modes (HOMs) excited by a cw electron beam in the third-harmonic cavities of the LCLS-II linac. A detailed comparison of the original XFEL design and the LCLS-II design with a modified end group is performed in order to estimate the effect of a reduced beam pipe aperture on the efficiency of HOM damping. Furthermore, we apply a statistical analysis of the eigenmode spectrum for the estimation of the probability of resonant HOM losses and influence of HOMs on beam dynamics.

Evaluation on dose distribution of longitudinal profile on helical tomotherapy Gha-Jung Kim

In this study is aimed to evaluate the accuracy of longitudinal dose distribution during helical tomotherapy slice treatment using ion chamber and EBT film, and measure the flatness in the longitudinal profile for each radiation field width. As the experiment condition, the radiation field widths were set to 10 mm, 25 mm, and 50 mm, respectively, to acquire and evaluate a longitudinal beam profile. A slab phantom and A1SL ion chamber was used to evaluate the accuracy of longitudinal dose distribution in helical tomotherapy. Also, solid phantom and EBT film was used to measurement of dose flatness in the longitudinal axis (Y axis). The difference between reference and measured data values of FWHM at the radiation field width of 10 mm was 0.546 ± 0.186% on average, and the maximum γ-index was 0.522 ± 0.056. The difference between reference and measured data values of FWHM at the radiation field width of 25 mm was 0.133 ± 0.113% on average, and the maximum γ-index was 0.417 ± 0.102. The difference between reference and measured data values of FWHM at the radiation field width of 50 mm was 0.120 ± 0.072% on average, and the maximum γ-index was 0.467 ± 0.077. The dose flatness within a range of 250 mm longitudinal axis (Y axis) for each radiation field width was 1.71 ± 0.46% on average, which was a value within 3%. The results exhibited that the dose flatness became more even as the radiation field width became wider. The above study results will contribute to clarifying the accuracy of radiation dose delivered to real patients, or the DQA, which is an important QA item in the IMRT using tomotherapy.

Reconstruction of sub-femtosecond longitudinal bunch profile measurement data

With a current trend towards shorter electron beams with lengths on the order of few femtoseconds (fs) to sub-femtoseconds both in conventional and novel accelerator communities, the need for diagnostics with equivalent attosecond resolution is increasing. The proposed design for a sub-femtosecond diagnostic by Andonian et al. (2011, Phys. Rev. ST Accel. Beams 14 072802) is one such example that combines a laser deflector with an RF deflecting cavity to streak the electron beam in the horizontal and vertical direction. In this paper, we present a tool for the reconstruction of the longitudinal beam profile from this diagnostic data, which can be used both for the analysis of planned experiments and testing of different beam scenarios with respect to their specific setup requirements. Applying this method, the usefulness of the device for measurements in a number of example scenarios, including plasma-accelerated and ultrashort RF-accelerated electron beams, is discussed.

Filmless methods for quality assurance of Tomotherapy using ArcCHECK.

Tomotherapy delivers an intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) treatment by the synchronization of gantry rotation, multileaf collimator (MLC), and couch movement. This dynamic nature makes the quality assurance (QA) important and challenging. The purpose of this study is to develop some methodologies using an ArcCHECK for accurate QA measurements of the gantry angle and speed, MLC synchronization and leaf open time, couch translation per gantry rotation, couch speed and uniformity, and constancy of longitudinal beam profile for a Tomotherapy unit. Four test plans recommended by AAPM Task Group 148 (TG148) and the manufacturer were chosen for this study. Helical and static star shot tests are used for checking the leaves opened at the expected gantry angles. Another helical test is to verify the couch traveled the expected distance per gantry rotation. The final test is for checking the couch speed constancy with a static gantry. ArcCHECK can record the detector signal every 50 ms as a movie file, and has a virtual inclinometer for gantry angle measurement. These features made the measurement of gantry angle and speed, MLC synchronization and leaf open time, and longitudinal beam profile possible. A shaping parameter was defined for facilitating the location of the beam center during the plan delivery, which was thereafter used to calculate the couch translation per gantry rotation and couch speed. The full width at half maximum (FWHM) was calculated for each measured longitudinal beam profile and then used to evaluate the couch speed uniformity. Furthermore, a mean longitudinal profile was obtained for constancy check of field width. The machine trajectory log data were also collected for comparison. Inhouse programs were developed in MATLAB to process both the ArcCHECK and machine log data. The deviation of our measurement results from the log data for gantry angle was calculated to be less than 0.4°. The percentage differences between measured and planned leaf open time were found to be within 0.5% in all the tests. Our results showed mean values of MLC synchronization of 0.982, 0.983, and 0.995 at static gantry angle 0°, 45°, and 135°, respectively. The mean value of measured couch translation and couch speed by ArcCHECK had less than 0.1% deviation from the planned values. The variation in the value of FWHM suggested the couch speed uniformity was better than 1%. The mean of measured longitudinal profiles was suitable for constancy check of field width. Precise and efficient methods for measuring the gantry angle and speed, leaf open time, couch translation per gantry rotation, couch speed and uniformity, and constancy of longitudinal beam profile of Tomotherapy using ArcCHECK have been developed and proven to be accurate compared with machine log data. Estimation of the Tomotherapy binary MLC leaf open time is proven to be precise enough to verify the leaf open time as small as 277.8 ms. Our method also makes the observation and quantification of the synchronization of leaves possible.

Adaptive robust control of longitudinal and transverse electron beam profiles

Feedback control of the longitudinal and transverse electron beam profiles are considered to be critical for beam control in accelerators. In the feedback scheme, the longitudinal or transverse beam profile is measured and compared to a desired profile to give an error estimate. The error is then used to act on the appropriate actuators to correct the profile. The role of the transverse feedback is to steer the beam in a particular trajectory, known as the ``orbit.'' The common approach for orbit correction is based on approximately inverting the response matrix, and in the best case, involves regulating or filtering the singular values. In the current contribution, a more systematic and structured way of handling orbit correction is introduced giving robustness against uncertainties in the response matrix. Moreover, the input bounds are treated to avoid violating the limits of the corrector currents. The concept of the robust orbit correction has been successfully tested at the SwissFEL injector test facility. In the SwissFEL machine, a photo-injector laser system extracts electrons from a cathode and a similar robust control method is developed for the longitudinal feedback control of the current profile of the electron bunch. The method manipulates the angles of the crystals in the laser system to produce a desired charge distribution over the electron bunch length. This approach paves the way towards automation of laser pulse stacking.

Optical dissector for longitudinal beam profile measurement

Experimental study of beam profile dynamics at circular accelerator was carried out due to creation of the sources of synchrotron radiation and colliders, at which the beam consists of several tens or hundreds of bunches distributed over the separatrices. Dynamics of a longitudinal profile of separate bunches was studied by means of streak cameras, however, they are not applied for regular, permanent diagnostics unlike beam position monitors or CCD cameras Streak cameras are very good for study of single processes, not for routine accelerator performance. BINP SB RAS has developed the optical analyzer on the basis of LI-602 dissector which was used for studying the beam dynamics at VEPP-2, VEPP-3, VEPP-4, electron-positron colliders and other electron circular accelerators: Siberia-2, ESRF, etc The dissector provides permanent measurements of the longitudinal beam profile. Nevertheless, the ultimate temporal resolution of the device is about 20 picoseconds Now it is not enough for application at modern accelerators. In this paper we describe the first experimental results obtained with the dissector of the next generation. The measured technical resolution of this device is about 2 picoseconds, but we believe that this value can be improved.

TADPOLE for longitudinal electron-bunch diagnostics based on electro-optic upconversion

Electron-bunch diagnostics are desired to utilize unambiguous, non-destructive, single-shot techniques. Various methods fulfill the latter two demands, but feature significant ambiguities and constraints in the reconstruction of time-domain electron-bunch profiles, e.g. uncertainties arising from the phase retrieval of coherent radiation using the Kramers–Kronig relation. We present a novel method of measuring the spectral phase. The measurement is based on upconversion in an electro-optic crystal, where the THz-field spectrum of fs-electron bunches is shifted to the near-infrared. This technique allows the single-shot detection of its longitudinal form factor in both, amplitude and phase. The spectral phase and amplitude information is measured and thus the temporal profile reconstructed using temporal analysis by dispersing a pair of light E-fields, also known as TADPOLE. This is a combination of frequency resolved optical gating (FROG) and spectral interferometry, enabling the temporal measurement of low-power laser pulses. In this procedure, a narrow-bandwidth laser pulse detecting the longitudinal variations in the transverse electric field of an electron bunch via frequency mixing is interfered with a broadband and FROG-characterized reference pulse. The longitudinal beam profile may therefore be unambiguously inferred from the generated interferogram and the detected spectral-phase-information of the reference pulse.