Machine Learning Based Spatial Light Modulator Control for the Photoinjector Laser at FLUTE

FLUTE (Ferninfrarot Linac- und Test-Experiment) at KIT is a compact linac-based test facility for novel accelerator technology and a source of intense THz radiation. FLUTE is designed to provide a wide range of electron bunch charges from the pC- to nC-range, high electric fields up to 1.2 GV/m, and ultra-short THz pulses down to the fs-timescale. The electrons are generated at the RF photoinjector, where the electron gun is driven by a commercial titanium sapphire laser. In this kind of setup the electron beam properties are determined by the photoinjector, but more importantly by the characteristics of the laser pulses. Spatial light modulators can be used to transversely and longitudinally shape the laser pulse, offering a flexible way to shape the laser beam and subsequently the electron beam, influencing the produced THz pulses. However, nonlinear effects inherent to the laser manipulation (transportation, compression, third harmonic generation) can distort the original pulse. In this paper we propose to use machine learning methods to manipulate the laser and electron bunch, aiming to generate tailor-made THz pulses. The method is demonstrated experimentally in a test setup

Full Characterization of the Bunch-Compressor Dipoles for FLUTE

The Ferninfrarot Linac- Und Test-Experiment (FLUTE) is a KIT-operated linac-based test facility for accelerator research and development as well as a compact, ultra-broadband and short-pulse terahertz (THz) source. As a key component of FLUTE, the bunch compressor (chicane) consisting of four specially designed dipoles will be used to compress the 40-50 MeV electron bunches after the linac down to single fs bunch length. The maximum vertical magnetic field of the dipoles reach 0.22 T, with an effective length of 200 mm. The good field region is ±40 mm and ±10.5 mm in the horizontal and vertical direction, respectively. The latest measurement results of the dipoles in terms of field homogeneity, excitation and field reproducibility within the good field regions will be reported, which meet the predefined specifications. The measured 3D magnetic field distributions have been used to perform beam dynamics simulations of the bunch compressor. Effects of the real field properties on the beam dynamics, which are different from that of the ASTRA built-in dipole field, will be discussed

Fast Mapping of Terahertz Bursting Thresholds and Characteristics at Synchrotron Light Sources

Dedicated optics with extremely short electron bunches enable synchrotron light sources to generate intense coherent THz radiation. The high degree of spatial compression in this so-called low-alpha optics entails a complex longitudinal dynamics of the electron bunches, which can be probed studying the fluctuations in the emitted terahertz radiation caused by the micro-bunching instability ("bursting"). This article presents a "quasi-instantaneous" method for measuring the bursting characteristics by simultaneously collecting and evaluating the information from all bunches in a multi-bunch fill, reducing the measurement time from hours to seconds. This speed-up allows systematic studies of the bursting characteristics for various accelerator settings within a single fill of the machine, enabling a comprehensive comparison of the measured bursting thresholds with theoretical predictions by the bunched-beam theory. This paper introduces the method and presents first results obtained at the ANKA synchrotron radiation facility.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures, to be published in Physical Review Accelerators and Beam

Diagnostics of longitudinal bunch instabilities at KARA

KARA, the Karlsruhe Research Accelerator, can be operated in different modes, including a short-bunch mode. During this mode, where the dispersion is stretched in order to reduce the momentum-compaction factor, micro-bunching instability can occur. At KARA, several measurement setups and techniques are used to investigate this instability further with the long-term perspective to suppress and control it. In this contribution, we give an overview about the different setups and the results achieved during the past years

Simultaneous Detection of Longitudinal and Transverse Bunch Signals at a Storage Ring

To understand and control the dynamics in the longitudinal phase space, time-resolved measurements of different bunch parameters are required. For a reconstruction of this phase space, the detector systems have to be synchronized. This reconstruction can be used e.g. for studies of the micro-bunching instability. It occurs if the interaction of the bunch with its own radiation leads to the formation of sub-structures on the longitudinal bunch profile. These sub-structures can grow rapidly -- leading to a sawtooth-like behaviour of the bunch. At KARA, we use a fast-gated intensified camera for energy spread studies, Schottky diodes for coherent synchrotron radiation studies as well as electro-optical spectral decoding for longitudinal bunch profile measurements. For a synchronization, a hardware synchronization scheme is used which compensates for eventual hardware delays. In this paper, the different experimental setups and their synchronization are discussed and first results of synchronous measurements are presented

Modern Ultra-Fast Detectors for Online Beam Diagnostics

Synchrotron light sources operate with bunch repetition rates in the MHz regime. The longitudinal and transverse beam dynamics of these electron bunches can be investigated and characterized by experiments employing linear array detectors. To improve the performance of modern beam diagnostics and overcome the limitations of commercially available detectors, we have at KIT developed KALYPSO, a detector system operating with an unprecedented frame rate of up to 12 MHz. To facilitate the integration in different experiments, a modular architecture has been utilized. Different semiconductor microstrip sensors based on Si, InGaAs, PbS, and PbSe can be connected to the custom-designed low noise front-end ASIC to optimize the quantum efficiency at different photon energies, ranging from near-UV, visible, and up to near-IR. The front-end electronics are integrated within a heterogeneous DAQ consisting of FPGAs and GPUs, which allows the implementation of real-time data processing. This detector is currently installed at KARA, European XFEL, FLASH, Soleil, DELTA. In this contribution, we present the detector architecture, the performance results, and the ongoing technical developments

Application of KALYPSO as a diagnostic tool for beam and spectral analysis

KALYPSO is a novel detector capable of operating at frame rates up to 12 MHz developed and tested at the institute of data processing and electronics (IPE) and employed at Karlsruhe Research Accelerator (KARA) which is part of the Test Facility and Synchrotron Radiation Source KIT. This detector consists of silicon, InGaAs, PbS, or PbSe line array sensor with spectral sensitivity from 350 nm to 5000 nm. The unprecedented frame rate of this detector is achieved by a custom-designed ASIC readout chip. The FPGA-readout architecture enables continuous data acquisition and real-time data processing. Such a detector has various applications in the fields of beam diagnostics and spectral analysis. KALYPSO is currently employed at various synchrotron facilities for electro-optical spectral decoding (EOSD) to study the longitudinal profile of the electron beam, to study the energy spread of the electron beam, tuning of free-electron lasers (FELs), and also in characterizing laser spectra. This contribution will present an overview of the results from the mentioned applications

Implementing Electro-Optical Diagnostics for Measuring the CSR far-field at KARA

For measuring the temporal profile of the coherent synchrotron radiation (CSR) at the KIT storage ring KARA (Karlsruhe Research Accelerator) an experimental setup based on electro-optical spectral decoding (EOSD) is currently being implemented. The EOSD technique allows single-shot, phase-sensitive measurements of the far-field radiation on a turn-by-turn basis at rates in the MHz range. Therefore, the resulting THz radiation from the dynamics of the bunch evolution, e.g. the microbunching, can be observed with high temporal resolution. This far-field setup is part of the distributed sensor network at KARA. Additionally to the information acquired from the near-field EOSD spectral decoding and the horizontal bunch profile monitor, it enables to monitor the longitudinal phase-space of the bunch. In this contribution, the characterization of the far-field setup is summarized and its implementation is discussed

Systematic Beam Parameter Studies at the Injector Section of FLUTE

FLUTE (Ferninfrarot Linac- und Test-Experiment) is a compact linac-based test facility for accelerator R&D and source of intense THz radiation for photon science. In preparation for the next experiments, the electron beam of the injector section of FLUTE has been characterized. In systematic studies the electron beam parameters, e.g., beam energy and emittance, are measured with several diagnostic systems. This knowledge allows the establishment of different operation settings and the optimization of electron beam parameters for future experiments

Revealing the dynamics of ultrarelativistic non-equilibrium many-electron systems with phase space tomography

The description of physical processes with many-particle systems is a key approach to the modeling of numerous physical systems. For example in storage rings, where ultrarelativistic particles are agglomerated in dense bunches, the modeling and measurement of their phase-space distribution is of paramount importance: at any time the phase-space distribution not only determines the complete space-time evolution but also provides fundamental performance characteristics for storage ring operation. Here, we demonstrate a non-destructive tomographic imaging technique for the 2D longitudinal phase-space distribution of ultrarelativistic electron bunches. For this purpose, we utilize a unique setup, which streams turn-by-turn near-field measurements of bunch profiles at MHz repetition rates. To demonstrate the feasibility of our method, we induce a non-equilibrium state and show that the phase-space distribution microstructuring as well as the phase-space distribution dynamics can be observed in great detail. Our approach offers a pathway to control ultrashort bunches and supports, as one example, the development of compact accelerators with low energy footprints