PARMELA VS MEASUREMENTS FOR GTF AND DUVFEL

The particle-pushing PARMELA was used to design the photo-injector beamline of the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) to be built at SLAC in 2005. PARMELA predicts that projected emittances smaller than 1.2 mm.mrad and slice emittance smaller than 1.0 mm.mrad will be achievable for 1nC, 10ps electron bunches with an S-band RF gun and an emittance compensating system. To benchmark PARMELA, comparisons between simulations and measurements for two photo-injector test facilities, the Gun Test Facility (GTF) at SLAC and the Deep Ultra Violet FEL (DUVFEL) at BNL, have been performed. Aspects of the modeling of fields and initial distributions are discussed. The agreement between measured and simulated beam parameters (projected and slice emittance, Twiss parameters) is satisfying. Accordingly, it gives credibility to the extrapolation made for studying the LCLS case. PARMELA also indicates possible improvements in the tuning of those facilities to achieve the LCLS required beam properties.

Linac Coherent Light Source Electron Beam Collimation

This paper describes the design and simulation of the electron beam collimation system in the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS). Dark current is expected from the gun and some of the accelerating cavities. Particle tracking of the expected dark current through the entire LCLS linac, from gun through FEL undulator, is used to estimate final particle extent in the undulator as well as expected beam loss at each collimator or aperture restriction. A table of collimators and aperture restrictions is listed along with halo particle loss results, which includes an estimate of average continuous beam power lost. In addition, the transverse wakefield alignment tolerances are calculated for each collimator

Measurement and Analysis of Field Emission Electrons in the LCLS Gun

The field emission was measured during the high-power testing of the LCLS photocathode RF gun. A careful study and analysis of the field emission electrons, or dark current is important in assessing the gun's internal surface quality in actual operation, especially those surfaces with high fields. The first indication of a good RF gun design and fabrication is short processing time to the required fields and low electron emission at high fields. The charge per 2 microsecond long RF pulse (the dark charge) was measured as a function of the peak cathode field for the 1.6 cell, 2.856GHz LCLS RF gun. Faraday cup data was taken for cathode peak RF fields up to 120MV/m producing a maximum of 0.6nC/RF pulse for a diamond-turned polycrystalline copper cathode installed in the gun. Digitized images of the dark charge were taken using a 100 micron thick YAG crystal for a range of solenoid fields to determine the location and angular distribution of the field emitters. The FN plots and emitter image analysis will be described in this paper

Correction due to finite speed of light in absolute gravimeters

Correction due to finite speed of light is among the most inconsistent ones in absolute gravimetry. Formulas reported by different authors yield corrections scattered up to 8 $\mu$Gal with no obvious reasons. The problem, though noted before, has never been studied, and nowadays the correction is rather postulated than rigorously proven. In this paper we make an attempt to revise the subject. Like other authors, we use physical models based on signal delays and the Doppler effect, however, in implementing the models we additionally introduce two scales of time associated with moving and resting reflectors, derive a set of rules to switch between the scales, and establish the equivalence of trajectory distortions as obtained from either time delay or distance progression. The obtained results enabled us to produce accurate correction formulas for different types of instruments, and to explain the differences in the results obtained by other authors. We found that the correction derived from the Doppler effect is accountable only for $\frac23$ of the total correction due to finite speed of light, if no signal delays are considered. Another major source of inconsistency was found in the tacit use of simplified trajectory models

Results of the SLAC LCLS Gun High-Power RF Tests

The beam quality and operational requirements for the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) currently being constructed at SLAC are exceptional, requiring the design of a new RF photocathode gun for the electron source. Based on operational experience at SLAC's GTF and SDL and ATF at BNL as well as other laboratories, the 1.6cell s-band (2856MHz) gun was chosen to be the best electron source for the LCLS, however a significant redesign was necessary to achieve the challenging parameters. Detailed 3-D analysis and design was used to produce near-perfect rotationally symmetric rf fields to achieve the emittance requirement. In addition, the thermo-mechanical design allows the gun to operate at 120Hz and a 140MV/m cathode field, or to an average power dissipation of 4kW. Both average and pulsed heating issues are addressed in the LCLS gun design. The first LCLS gun is now fabricated and has been operated with high-power RF. The results of these high-power tests are presented and discussed

Photoinjector design for the LCLS

The design of the Linac Coherent Light Source assumes that a low-emittance, 1-nC, 10-ps beam will be available for injection into the 15-GeV linac. The proposed rf photocathode injector that will provide a 150-MeV beam with rms normalized emittances of 1 mm in both the transverse and longitudinal dimensions is based on a 1.6-cell S-band rf gun that is equipped with an emittance compensating solenoid. The booster accelerator is positioned at the beam waist coinciding with the first emittance maximum and is provided with an accelerating gradient of ~25 MeV/m, i.e., the "new working point." The uv pulses required for cathode excitation will be generated by tripling the output of a Ti:sapphire laser system consisting of a highly stable cw mode-locked oscillator and two bow-tie amplifiers pumped by a pair of Q-switched Nd:YAG lasers. The large bandwidth of the Ti:sapphire system accommodates the desired temporal pulse shaping. Details of the design and the supporting simulations are presented.Comment: 13 pages (double spaced), 4 figures, contributed to The 23rd International Free Electron Laser Conference, Darmstadt, Germany, 20-24 August 200

In-Situ Cleaning of Metal Photo-Cathodes in rf Guns

Metal cathodes installed in rf guns typically exhibit much lower quantum efficiency than the theoretical limit. Experimenters often use some sort of in situ technique to ''clean'' the cathode to improve the QE. The most common technique is laser cleaning where the laser is focused to a small spot and scanned across the cathode surface. However, since the laser is operated near the damage threshold, it can also damage the cathode and increase the dark current. The QE also degrades over days and must be cleaned regularly. We are searching for a more robust cleaning technique that cleans the entire cathode surface simultaneously. In this paper we describe initial results using multiple techniques such as several keV ion beams, glow discharge cleaning and back bombarding electrons. Results are quantified in terms of the change in QE and dark current

Initial Commissioning Experience With the LCLS Injector

The Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) is a SASE xray Free-Electron Laser (FEL) project presently under construction at SLAC [1]. The injector section, from drive-laser and RF photocathode gun through first bunch compressor chicane, was installed in fall 2006. Initial system commissioning with an electron beam is taking place during the spring and summer of 2007. The second phase of construction, including second bunch compressor and full linac, will begin later, in the fall of 2007. We report here on experience gained during the first phase of machine commissioning, including RF photocathode gun, linac booster section, S-band and X-band RF systems, first bunch compressor, and the various beam diagnostics

Commissioning Results of the LCLS Injector

The Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) is a SASE xray Free-Electron Laser (FEL) project presently under construction at SLAC. The injector section, from drive-laser and RF photocathode gun through first bunch compressor chicane, was installed in fall 2006. Initial system commissioning with an electron beam has recently been completed. The second phase of construction, including second bunch compressor and full linac, is planned for 2008. In this paper, we report experimental results and experience gained during the first phase of machine commissioning. This includes the cathode, drive laser, RF photocathode gun, linac booster section, S-band and X-band RF systems, first bunch compressor, and the various beam diagnostics