Simulation and First Experimental Tests of an Electron Beam Transport System for a Laser Wakefield Accelerator

The design of a beam transport system for the electron bunches of a Laser Wakefield Accelerator (LWFA) is challenging due to the large relative energy spread of the bunches. For the realization of an undulator radiation source at the LWFA based on a transverse gradient undulator (TGU) a well adapted transport system is essential. In this thesis the layout of such a system including the compensation of the energy spread and first experimental tests are presented

Radiation emitted by transverse-gradient undulators

Conventional undulators are used in synchrotron light sources to produce radiation with a narrow relative spectral width as compared to bending magnets or wigglers. The spectral width of the radiation produced by conventional undulators is determined by the number of undulator periods and by the energy spread and emittance of the electron beam. In more compact electron sources like for instance laser plasma accelerators the energy spread becomes the dominating factor. Due to this effect these electron sources cannot in general be used for high-gain free electron lasers (FELs). In order to overcome this limitation, modified undulator schemes, so-called transverse gradient undulators (TGUs), were proposed and a first superconducting TGU was built at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Karlsruhe, Germany. In this paper simulations of the expected synchrotron radiation spectral distribution are presented. An experimental test with that device is under preparation at the laser wakefield accelerator at the JETI laser at the University of Jena, Germany

Status of a monitor design for single-shot electro-optical bunch profile measurements at FCC-ee

At the KIT electron storage ring KARA (Karlsruhe Research Accellerator) an electro-optical (EO) near-field monitor is in operation performing single-shot, turn-by-turn measurements of the longitudinal bunch profile using electro-optical spectral decoding (EOSD). In context of the Future Circular Collider Innovation Study (FCCIS), a similar setup is investigated with the aim to monitor the longitudinal bunch profile of each bunch for dedicated top-up injection at the future electron-positron collider FCC-ee. This contribution presents the status of a monitor design adapted to cope with the high-current and high-energy lepton beams foreseen at FCC-ee

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

Enhancing the sensitivity of the electro-optical far-field experiment for measuring CSR at KARA

At the KIT storage ring KARA (Karlsruhe Research Accelerator), a far-field electro-optical (EO) experimental setup to measure the temporal profile of the coherent synchrotron radiation (CSR) is implemented. Here, the EOSD (electro-optical spectral decoding) technique will be used to obtain single-shot measurements of the temporal CSR profile in the terahertz frequency domain. To keep the crucial high signal-to-noise ratio a setup based on balanced detection is under commission. Therefore, simulations are performed for an optimized beam path and the setup is characterized. In this contribution, the upgraded setup and first measurements are presented

Electro-Optical Diagnostics at KARA and FLUTE – Results and Prospects

Electro-optical (EO) methods are nowadays well-proven diagnostic tools, which are utilized to detect THz fields in countless experiments. The world’s first near-field EO sampling monitor at an electron storage ring was developed and installed at the KIT storage ring KARA (Karlsruhe Research Accelerator) and optimized to detect longitudinal bunch profiles. This experiment with other diagnostic techniques builds a distributed, synchronized sensor network to gain comprehensive data about the phase-space of electron bunches as well as the produced coherent synchrotron radiation (CSR). These measurements facilitate studies of physical conditions to provide, at the end, intense and stable CSR in the THz range. At KIT, we also operate FLUTE (Ferninfrarot Linac- und Test-Experiment), a new compact versatile linear accelerator as a test facility for novel techniques and diagnostics. There, EO diagnostics will be implemented to open up possibilities to evaluate and compare new techniques for longitudinal bunch diagnostics. In this contribution, we will give an overview of results achieved, the current status of the EO diagnostic setups at KARA and FLUTE and discuss future prospects

Status and upgrade of the visible light diagnostics port for energy spread measurements at KARA

At the visible light diagnostic (VLD) port at the Karlsruhe Research Accelerator (KARA), it is possible to measure the energy spread of electron bunches by measuring the horizontal bunch profile of the incoherent synchrotron radiation. KALYPSO, a MHz-rate line-array detector has been used to measure the bunch profile. Recently, the KALYPSO system has been upgraded to a version incorporating a microstrip sensor based on TI-LGAD. The performed measurements have shown that the overall sensitivity of the system was significantly improved, which enables measurements at low bunch charges. In this contribution, a brief overview of the upgraded setup and preliminary measurement results will be presented