Terahertz coherent transition radiation based on an ultrashort electron bunching beam

The experimental result of terahertz （THz） coherent transition radiation generated from an ultrashort electron bunching beam is reported. During this experiment, the window for THz transmission from ultrahigh vacuum to free air is tested. The compact measurement system which can simultaneously test the THz wave power and frequency is built and proofed. With the help of improved Martin-Puplett interferometer and Kramers-Krong transform, the longitudinal bunch length is measured. The results show that the peak power of THz radiation wave is more than 80 kW, and its radiation frequency is from 0.1 THz to 1.5 THz.

Electron bunching in a Penning trap and accelerating process for CO_2 gas mixture active medium

In PASER （particle acceleration by stimulated emission of radiation）, in the presence of an active medium incorporated in a Penning trap, moving electrons can become bunched, and as they get enough energy, they escape the trap forming an optical injector. These bunched electrons can enter the next PASER section filled with the same active medium to be accelerated. In this paper, electron dynamics in the presence of a gas mixture active medium incorporated in a Penning trap is analyzed by developing an idealized 1D model. We evaluate the energy exchange occurring as the train of electrons traverses into the next PASER section. The results show that the oscillating electrons can be bunched at the resonant frequency of the active medium. The influence of the trapped time and population inversion are analyzed, showing that the longer the electrons are trapped, the more energy from the medium the accelerated electrons get, and with the increase of population inversion, the decelerated electrons are virtually unchanged but the accelerated electrons more than double their peak energy values. The simulation results show that the gas active medium needs a lower population inversion to bunch the electrons compared to a solid active medium, so the experimental conditions can easily be achieved.

Characteristics of terahertz coherent transition radiation generated from picosecond ultrashort electron bunches

This paper presents a method of generating terahertz （THz） coherent transition radiation （CTR） from picosecond ultrashort electron bunches including single and train bunches, which are produced by a photocathode radio frequency gun. The radiation characteristics of THz CTR including formation factor and energy spectrum are analysed in detail. With the help of a 2-dimensional particle-in-cell simulation, the radiation characteristics including power, energy and magnetic field are analysed. The results show that the radiation frequency can be adjusted by tuning the repetition frequency of the train bunch and the energy can be enhanced with the train bunches.

Monoenergetic electron parameters in a spheroid bubble model

A reliable analytical expression for the potential of plasma waves with phase velocities near the speed of light is derived.The presented spheroid cavity model is more consistent than the previous spherical and ellipsoidal models and it explains the mono-energetic electron trajectory more accurately,especially at the relativistic region.The maximum energy of electrons is calculated and it is shown that the maximum energy of the spheroid model is less than that of the spherical model.The electron energy spectrum is also calculated and it is found that the energy distribution ratio of electrons △E/E for the spheroid model under the conditions reported here is half that of the spherical model and it is in good agreement with the experimental value in the same conditions.As a result,the quasi-mono-energetic electron output beam interacting with the laser plasma can be more appropriately described with this model.

Electron Acceleration and Bunch Generation by Intense Femtosecond Laser Pulse in Preplasma of a Target

We present analytical studies of electron acceleration in the low-density preplasma of a thin solid target byan intense femtosecond laser pulse.Electrons in the preplasma are trapped and accelerated by the ponderomotive forceas well as the wake field.Two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations show that when the laser pulse is stopped by thetarget,electrons trapped in the laser pules can be extracted and move forward inertially.The energetic electron bunchin the bubble is unaffected by the reflected pulse and passes through the target with small energy spread and emittance.There is an optimal preplasma density for the generation of the monoenergetic electron bunch if a laser pulse is given.The maximum electron energy is inverse proportion to the preplasma density.

Electron Acceleration During the Mode Transition from Laser Wakefield to Plasma Wakefield Acceleration with a Dense-Plasma Wall

The wake bubble expansion and contraction by adding a dense-plasma wall in the background plasma during the mode transition from laser wakefield to plasma wakefield accel- eration is investigated by particle-in-cell simulations. The electrons are injected continuously into the cavity until the lateral bubble size equals the inner diameter of the wall. The injected electron bunch from the laser wakefield acceleration （LWFA） scheme is quasi phase-stably accel- erated forward because of the longitudinal contraction of the bubble. After the laser pulse is depleted completely, the electron bunch generated from the LWFA scheme drives a plasma wake- field. The electrons remaining in the channel are trapped and accelerated by the plasma wakefield. Ultimately, two energetic electron bunches with a narrow energy spread and low emittance are obtained.

Determining beam transverse absolute position by triangulation of multi-electrode signal phase differences

Accurate measurement of the transverse position of a beam is crucial in particle accelerators because it plays a key role in determining the beam parameters.Existing methods for beam-position measurement rely on the detection of image currents induced on electrodes or narrow-band wake field induced by a beam passing through a cavity-type structure.However,these methods have limitations.The indirect measurement of multiple parameters is computationally complex,requiring external calibration to determine the system parameters in advance.Furthermore,the utilization of the beam signal information is incomplete.Hence,this study proposes a novel method for measuring the absolute electron beam transverse position.By utilizing the geometric relationship between the center position of the measured electron beam and multiple detection electrodes and by analyzing the differences in the arrival times of the beam signals detected by these electrodes,the absolute transverse position of the electron beam crossing the electrode plane can be calculated.This method features absolute position measurement,a position sensitivity coefficient independent of vacuum chamber apertures,and no requirement for a symmetrical detector electrode layout.The feasibility of this method is validated through numerical simulations and beam experiments.

Simulation and Error Analysis of Electro-optic Sampling Measurement of Ultrashort Electron Beam Bunch Length

For the development of high energy physics,it is needed to improve the performance of the relativistic electron bunch.The measurement of the ultrashort relativistic electron pulse becomes one of the key technologies.The electro-optic sampling measurement of relativistic electron pulses is a promising method.This method is nondestructive, non-intrusive,and real-time monitoring.Distance and angles of the reference frames will cause system deviations.In this paper these system deviations are analyzed by simulation.It provides a reference for the experiment.

Electro-optical sampling non-synchronous delay scanning measurement of electron beam bunch length at BFEL

The Electro-optical sampling delay scanning technique can be used for electron beam bunch length measurement. A novel non-synchronous delay scanning technique based on the electro-optical sampling measurements is presented. Based on Beijing Free Electron Laser （BFEL）, the electron beam bunch length was measured with the electro-optical sampling technique for the first time in China. The result shows that the electron beam bunch length at BFEL is about 5.6±1.2 ps.

Generation and measurement of sub-picosecond electron bunch in photocathode rf gun

We consider a scheme to generate a sub-picosecond electron bunch in the photocathode rf gun by im-proving the acceleration gradient in the gun, suitably tuning the bunch charge, the laser spot size and the acceleration phase, and reducing the growth of transverse emittance by laser shaping. A nondestructive technique is also reported to measure the electron bunch length, by measuring the high-frequency spectrum of wakefield radiation which is caused by the passage of a relativistic electron bunch through a channel surrounded by a dielectric.

High-gradient modulation of microbunchings using a minimized system driven by a vortex laser

This study entailed the development of a high-gradient modulation of microbunching for traditional radiation frequency accelerators using a minimized system driven by a relativistic Laguerre–Gaussian(LG)laser in three-dimensional particlein-cell(PIC)simulations.It was observed that the LG laser could compress the transverse dimension of the beam to within a 0.7μm radius(divergence≈4.3 mrad),which is considerably lower than the case tuned by a Gaussian laser.In addition,the electron beam could be efficiently modulated to a high degree of bunching effect(>0.5)within~21 fs(~7μm)in the longitudinal direction.Such a high-gradient density modulation driven by an LG laser for pre-bunched,low-divergence,and stable electron beams provides a potential technology for the system minimization of X-ray free-electron lasers(XFELs)and ultrashort-scale(attosecond)electron diffraction research.

Enhanced terahertz generation via plasma modulation on two bunches

Terahertz(THz)radiation finds important applications in various fields,making the study of THz sources significant.Among different approaches,electron accelerator-based THz sources hold notable advantages in generating THz radiation with narrow bandwidth,high brightness,high peak power,and high repetition rate.To further improve the THz radiation energy,the bunching factor of the free electron bunch train needs to be increased.We propose and numerically reveal that,by adding an additional short-pulse drive beam before the main beam as the excitation source of nonlinear plasma wake,the bunching factor of the main beam can be further increased to∼0.94,even though with a relatively low charge,low current,and relatively diffused electron beam.Two such electron beams with loose requirements can be easily generated using typical photoinjectors.Our work provides a way for a new THz source with enhanced radiation energy.

Compact narrow-band THz radiation source based on photocathode rf gun

Narrow-band THz coherent Cherenkov radiation can be driven by a subpicosecond electron bunch trav- eling along the axis of a hollow cylindrical dielectric-lined waveguide. We present a scheme of compact THz radiation source based on the photocathode rf gun. On the basis of our analytic result, the subpicosecond electron bunch with high charge （800 pC） can be generated directly in the photocathode rf gun. According to the analytical and simulated results, a narrow emission spectrum peaked at 0.24 THz with 2 megawatt （MW） peak power is expected to gain in the proposed scheme （the length of the facility is about 1.2 m）.