• K. Takayama, T. Adachi, T. Arai, Y. Arakida, M. Hasimoto, T. Iwashita, E. Kadokura, M. Kawai, T. Kawakubo, K. Koyama, T. Kubo, T. Kubo, H. Nakanishi, K. Okamura, H. Someya, A. Takagi, M. Wake
  KEK, Ibaraki
• T. Kikuchi, T. Yoshii
  Nagaoka University of Technology, Nagaoka, Niigata
• K.W. Leo
  Sokendai, Ibaraki
• K. Mochiki, T. Sano
  Tokyo City University, Tokyo
• M. Okamura
  RBRC, Upton, Long Island, New York
• K. Okazaki
  Nippon Advanced Technology Co. Ltd., Ibaraki-prefecture
• H. Tanaka
  Iwate university, Morioka, Iwate

A novel circular accelerator capable of accelerating any ions from an extremely low energy to relativistic energy is discussed. A digital accelerator (DA)* is based on the induction synchrotron concept, which had been demonstrated in 2006. All ions are captured and accelerated with pulse voltages generated by induction acceleration cell (IAC). The IAC is energized by the switching power supply, in which power solid-state conductors are employed as switching elements and their tuning on/off is maneuvered by gate signals digitally manipulated from the circulating signal of an ion beam. Acceleration synchronized with the revolution of the ion beam is always guaranteed. The concept is realized by renovating the KEK 500 MeV booster into the DA, introducing a laser ablation ion source. Ion energy of 85-140 MeV/au and intensity of 10⁺⁹ - 10⁺¹⁰ /sec are estimated and these ions will be delivered without any large-scale injector. Companion papers** will discuss more details of instruments of DA. Applications for innovative material sciences and life sciences will be briefly introduced as well as the outline of DA.

*K. Takayam, J. of Appl. Phys. 101 (2007) 063304.
**K.Takayama "Ion source and LEBT", T.Adachi "Injection and extraction system", T.Iwashita "Induction acceleration system" in this conference.

• K. Nanbu, H. Hama, F. Hinode, M. Kawai, F. Miyahara, T. Muto, Y. Tanaka
  Tohoku University, School of Scinece, Sendai
• S. Kashiwagi
  Tohoku University, Research Center for Electron Photon Science, Sendai

A thermionic RF gun has been developed to generate very short electron bunch for a THz light source at Tohoku University. Bunch compression scheme requires, in general, linear momentum distribution of the particles with respect to the longitudinal position, so that measurement of longitudinal phase space is significant for better bunch compression. However, such measurement for the low energy electrons is difficult because space charge effect is so strong that longer drift space should not be included. Consequently, we have performed deliberation for employing energy dependent angular distribution of Cherenkov radiation. Though the energy dependence of emission angle of Cherenkov radiation is rapidly getting small as increasing the beam energy, it is still 25 deg/MeV at an energy around 2.0 MeV when we use radiator having refractive index of 1.035. Thus the beam energy distribution can be measured if we observe Cherenkov ring with sufficient angular resolution. Since this method needs only thin radiator, the drift space length will be minimized. We will discuss limitation for resolutions of both the time and the energy as well.

• F. Hinode, H. Hama, M. Kawai, F. Miyahara, T. Muto, K. Nanbu, H. Oohara, Y. Tanaka
  Tohoku University, School of Scinece, Sendai
• S. Kashiwagi
  Tohoku University, Research Center for Electron Photon Science, Sendai

A test accelerator for the coherent terahertz source (t-ACTS) has been under development at Laboratory of Nuclear Science, Tohoku University*. Intense coherent terahertz radiation will be generated by the very short electron bunch less than 100 fs using a thermionic RF gun (ITC RF-gun). ITC RF-gun is designed to have two cells uncoupled with each other, so that it can be operated at various combinations of different rf-power level and phase difference so as to optimize the longitudinal phase space distribution of the electron beam for bunch compression**. The gun employs single-crystal LaB6 cathode with small diameter of 1.8 mm to obtain a very small initial emittance with sufficiently high current density. The RF gun has been already manufactured and the measurement of RF characteristics is now in progress. We will present the results of low-power measurement and also discuss the effect of the cathode misalignment on the beam parameters such as transverse emittance and longitudinal phase space distribution.

* H. Hama et al., New J. Phys. 8 (2006) 292.
** H. Hama et al., Nucl. Instr. and Meth., A 528, (2004) 371.

• F. Miyahara, H. Hama, F. Hinode, M. Kawai, T. Muto, K. Nanbu, H. Oohara, Y. Tanaka
  Tohoku University, School of Scinece, Sendai

We have studied production of the very short-bunch electron beam to generate intense coherent THz radiation*. The bunch length of 100 fs is required to produce CSR around 1 THz. The beam from the thermionic RF-gun is introduced into the bunch compression system consist of an alpha magnet and a linac. The alpha magnet is often used as a bunch compressor for electron energy of several MeV. However, for our system, the alpha magnet plays a role of the longitudinal phase space rotator and energy filter. The bunch compression is done in the linac employing velocity bunching. The beam is injected on near the zero-cross phase of the RF field in the linac, and then the beam phase slip toward the crest. The longitudinal phase space and beam phase with respect to RF field at the entrance of the linac are optimized so that the bunch length would be minimum. In current analysis using numerical simulation based on the GPT code**, an rms bunch length of 30 fs has been obtained for a bunch charge of 20 pC. We will discuss the bunch compression scheme and the beam dynamics in the system. Prospect of the coherent radiation from the beam will be also reported.

* H. Hama et al, Proc. Ultrashort Electron & Photon Beam Techniques and Applications, Xian, China (2009)
** General Particle Tracer (GPT), URL: http://www.pulsar.nl/gpt