RF bunch compression for single-shot femtosecond electron diffraction

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Cool beams for ultrafast electron imaging

By near threshold photoionization of a laser-cooled and trapped atomic gas we create dense, picosecond electron bunches at electron temperatures three orders of magnitude lower than in conventional field and photoemission sources. The superior coherence properties of this ultracold source will enable single-shot electron diffraction of macromolecules and ultrafast nanodiffraction. Recently we have recorded the first diffraction patterns of graphite using the ultracold source. To control and manipulate highly coherent, ultrashort pulsed beams we are developing compact 3 GHz microwave cavities as versatile time-dependent electron optical elements. We have demonstrated bunch compression – longitudinal focusing – to below 100 fs using a 3 GHz microwave cavity in TM010 mode. Alternatively, a cavity in TM010 mode may be used to lower the energy spread of an electron bunch by longitudinal defocusing. We use microwave cavities in TM110 mode for measuring bunch lengths, but also to chop the continuous beam of an electron microscope into a high repetition rate train of femtosecond single-electron pulses while conserving emittance

Met koude elektronen atomen zien bewegen

In december 2007 was dr.ir Jom Luiten een van de gelukkige prijswinnaars van een Vici-subsidie. I-hf kreeg deze prijs voor een onderzoeksvoorstel waarmee hij atomen in actie wilde zien. Ondertussen zljn we een jaar verder en is er dus meer te vertellen over hoe het met het onderzoeksproject staat

Extreme beams for single-shot ultrafast electron diffraction

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Ultracold and ultrafast electron source

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Ultracold and ultrafast electron source

Abstract of the lecture

Ultracold electron and ion beams

Extracting electrons and ions from an ultracold plasma provides an entirely new way of generating charged-particle beams, which has the potential for advancing the state-of-the-art in beam brightness by orders of magnitude. This may have far-ranging implications for applications as diverse as time-resolved sub-picosecond electron microscopy, x-ray free electron lasers, and nanometer ion beam milling. In this talk I will dwell on a few of the exciting prospects for both science and industry and I will present experimental results of the first ultracold electron and ion beams, which were recently obtained at Eindhoven University

KNAW-Agenda Grootschalige Onderzoeksfaciliteiten : Smart*Light: a Dutch table-top synchrotron light source

Immediately after its discovery in 1895, X-ray radiation started to make an enormous contribution to society. Fields like medical diagnostics, materials inspection and protein crystallography rely heavily on the imaging and analytical capabilities of X-rays. Notwithstanding major developments over the past\u3cbr/\u3ecentury, there are three important intrinsic limitations to X-ray tubes, the conventional X-ray sources 2/25 used in the lab: their relative low intensity, the poor coherence of radiation and the selective availability of X-ray energies. Since the late 1970s synchrotron sources have become available, which offer highbrilliance, coherent and energy-tunable X-rays, but these are only available at a limited number of specialized facilities worldwide, providing scarce beam time – at a high cost – outside the scientists’ lab.\u3cbr/\u3eThere is no synchrotron source in The Netherlands.\u3cbr/\u3eHere, we propose to develop and apply a revolutionary, compact, affordable and miniaturized alternative to a synchrotron facility – a tabletop Inverse Compton Scattering (ICS) source. The physical basis is the ICS process in which photons from a laser beam are bounced off a relativistic electron beam, turning\u3cbr/\u3ethem into X-ray photons through the relativistic Doppler effect. Already described theoretically decades ago, the enabling technology necessary to materialize such a source, has only very recently matured into robust components. Ultra-low-emittance electron guns, compact X-band accelerator technology and high-power pulsed lasers have become available only recently. This now brings the ICS source for in-situ applications of high-energy X-rays within our reach. In combination with the newest X-ray detectors (Medipix) the tabletop ICS source will constitute an extremely sensitive, on-site, non-destructive tool for imaging and analysis. It will combine (sub)micrometer spatial resolution with high analytical precision in structural and spectroscopic applications. We plan to use the ICS source where it will be most effective: in a clinical environment for medical imaging, inside the materials scientist’s laboratory for work on new materials and in the museum conservation studio for the study of important artwork. Our plan includes key partners, covering both the instrumental development and the relevant user communities, as well as academic and industrial stakeholders