The SPARC-LAB Thomson source commissioning

Abstract The SPARC_LAB Thomson source is presently under commissioning at LNF. An electron beam of energy between 30-150 MeV collides head-on with the laser pulse provided by the Ti:Sapphire laser FLAME, characterized in this phase by a length of 6 ps FWHM and by an energy ranging between 1 and 5 J. The key features of this system are the wide range of tunability of the X- rays yield energy, i.e. 20-500 keV, and the availability of a coupled quadrupole and solenoid focusing system, allowing to reach an electron beam size of 10-20 microns at the interaction point. The experimental results obtained in the February 2014 shifts are presented

Operational experience on the generation and control of high brightness electron bunch trains at SPARC-LAB

Sub-picosecond, high-brightness electron bunch trains are routinely produced at SPARC-LAB via the velocity bunching technique. Such bunch trains can be used to drive multi-color Free Electron Lasers (FELs) and plasma wake field accelerators. In this paper we present recent results at SPARC-LAB on the generation of such beams, highlighting the key points of our scheme. We will discuss also the on-going machine upgrades to allow driving FELs with plasma accelerated beams or with short electron pulses at an increased energy

Tailoring of Highly Intense THz Radiation Through High Brightness Electron Beams Longitudinal Manipulation

The ultra-short electron beams, produced through the velocity bunching compression technique at the SPARC_LAB test Facility (Frascati, Italy), are used to produce Coherent Transition Radiation in the terahertz (THz) range. This paper reports on the main features of this THz source, which have a spectral coverage up to 5 THz, a pulse duration down to 100 fs, and an energy per pulse on the order of tens of μJ. These figures of merits open the possibility to apply this source for nonlinear and THz pump-probe experiments in Solid-State Physics and material science

First single-shot and non-intercepting longitudinal bunch diagnostics for comb-like beam by means of Electro-Optic Sampling

At SPARC-LAB, we have installed an Electro-Optic Sampling (EOS) experiment for single shot, non-destructive measurements of the longitudinal distribution charge of individual electron bunches. The profile of the electron bunch field is electro-optically encoded into a Ti:Sa laser, having 130 fs (rms) pulse length, directly derived from the photocathode's laser. The bunch profile information is spatially retrieved, i.e., the laser crosses with an angle of 30 with respect to the normal to the surface of EO crystal (ZnTe, Gap) and the bunch longitudinal profile is mapped into the laser's transverse profile. In particular, we used the EOS for a single-shot direct visualization of the time profile of a comb-like electron beam, consisting of two bunches, about 100 fs (rms) long, sub-picosecond spaced with a total charge of 160 pC. The electro-optic measurements (done with both ZnTe and GaP crystals) have been validated with both RE Deflector (RFD) and Michelson interferometer measurements. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserve

The SPARC_LAB Thomson source commissioning

The SPARC_LAB Thomson source is presently under commissioning at LNF. An electron beam of energy between 30-150 MeV collides head-on with the laser pulse provided by the Ti:Sapphire laser FLAME, characterized in this phase by a length of 6 ps FWHM and by an energy ranging between 1 and 5 J. The key features of this system are the wide range of tunability of the Xrays yield energy, i.e. 20-500 keV, and the availability of a coupled quadrupole and solenoid focusing system, allowing to reach an electron beam size of 10-20 microns at the interaction point. The experimental results obtained in the February 2014 shifts are presented

Conceptual Design Report - A 250 GHz Radio Frequency CARM Source for Plasma Fusion

The book presents the conceptual design for a Cyclotron Auto Resonance Maser source, operating at 250 GHz and conceived for Plasma Fusion research activities. The study is aimed at planning the construction of such a device at the ENEA Frascati Center, within the framework of the researches pertaining to the nuclear fusion. This foreseen activity gathers together different skills traditionally present in ENEA and including nuclear fusion, accelerator technology, beam handling and transport, superconductivity. The report covers the different details of the project and is divided in two parts. The first contains a general description of the entire system, furthermore it describes the motivations underlying the choice of the device, the relevant theoretical foundations, the reasons for the choice of the operating parameters and the expected performances of the source. In the second part the project details are reported and each constituting item is properly described in the technical annexes: the cathode design and the electron beam shaping and transport; the power supply and electrical pulse forming line; the Superconducting magnet and CARM cavity characteristics; the code development effort for the analysis of the radiation output performances