UW-Madison/SRC, Madison, Wisconsin
MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Funding: Work supported by the University of Wisconsin - Madison. SRC is supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation under Award No. DMR-0537588.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison/Synchrotron Radiation Center and MIT are developing a design for a seeded VUV/soft X-ray Free Electron Laser serving multiple simultaneous users. The present design uses an L-band CW superconducting 2.2 GeV electron linac to deliver 200 pC bunches to multiple FELs operating at repetition rates from kHz to MHz. The FEL output will be fully coherent both longitudinally and transversely, with tunable pulse energy, cover the 5-900 eV photon range, and have variable polarization. We have proposed a program of R&D to address the most critical aspects of the project. The five components of the R&D program are:
- Prototyping of a CW superconducting RF photoinjector operating in the self-inflating bunch mode.
- Development of conventional laser systems for MHz seeding of the FEL, and femtosecond timing and synchronization.
- Address thermal distortion and surface contamination issues on the photon optics.
- Investigate advanced undulator concepts to help reduce facility cost and/or extend performance.
- Perform detailed modeling of all aspects of the FEL, as part of production of a Conceptual Design Report for the FEL facility.
Xavier University of Louisiana, New Orleans, Louisiana
UW-Madison/SRC, Madison, Wisconsin
For many years it has been speculated that uniformly filled ellipsoidal electron bunches, with their linear fields, would be ideal to produce high charge density with low emittance beams. This may be particularly advantageous with bunch compression schemes required for operation of an FEL. The “blow-out” mode is a method of producing the desired electron bunch distribution: an initial charge pancake is produced at the cathode and allowed to expand to an ellipsoidal shape under the influence of its own space charge. In earlier studies a constant, DC electric field has been assumed in the production of ellipsoidal bunch distributions using “blow-out” mode. In this paper we look at the effects of a time varying, non-constant electric field on the development of the electron bunches as they are emitted from the photocathode and travel through an accelerating RF cavity. We present the effects of frequency in the cavity, field strength of the cavity,, as well as the phase of the electron bunch. These three variables change the spatial curvature and the temporal slope of the electric field as observed by the electron bunch. This results in changes in bunch development and formation.
MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts
UW-Madison/SRC, Madison, Wisconsin
The seeded FEL performance of a number of Wisconsin FEL (WiFEL) undulator lines is described. The experimental design requirements include coverage of a broad wavelength range, rapid wavelength tuning, variable polarization, and variable pulse energy. The beam parameters allow experiments ranging from those requiring low peak power with high average spectral flux to those that need high peak power and short pulse lengths in the femtosecond range. The FELs must also be stable in timing, power, and energy while satisfying constraints on electron beam quality and fluctuations, undulator technologies, and seed laser capabilities. Modeling results are presented that illustrate the design performance over the full wavelength range of the facility.