A. Novokhatski

Detailed numerical studies of space charge effects in an FEL RF gun

The production of short bunches with low emittance is a key issue for the successful operation of an SASE-FEL as proposed by the TESLA collaboration (TESLA Technical design report, DESY 2001-011, Hamburg, 2001). In this paper we present the results of detailed MAFIA TS-2 (CST GmbH, Budinger Strasse 2a, D-64289 Darmstadt) simulations for the FEL RF-gun revealing the main physical effects leading to emittance growth. The simulations prove that the transverse emittance growth can mainly be observed close to the cathode area. This is caused by the non-linear space charge forces acting inside the bunch during the injection process. For the application of an emittance compensation scheme (Nucl. Instr. and Meth. 285 (1989) 313) the slice emittance is of significant importance. Therefore, a wide range of parameters for the photo cathode laser has been investigated in order to find an appropriate operation point.

Beam-based alignment of TTF RF-gun using V-code

The beam dynamics simulation code V, based on the Ensemble Model, is being developed for on-line simulations. One practical application of the V-Code is the beam-based alignment (BBA) of accelerator (TESLA Test Facility) elements. Before we started with BBA the first beam position monitor (BPM1), located after the RF-gun cavity, showed non-zero readings. Moreover the readings depended on RF-power, RF-phase and primary and secondary solenoid currents. This effect could be explained by misalignments of the gun and the solenoids. Such beam offsets must be compensated by means of steering coils but such a procedure can be one of the sources of increased emittances. Based on the V-Code solver a dedicated utility was developed for alignment studies. The laser beam mismatch at the cathode, as well as the primary and secondary solenoid displacements were considered as probable reasons for the misalignment of the beam. A new method for the correction of these misalignments combines a sequence of measurements, simulations and the elimination of the largest imperfections. This semi-automatic method applied to the TTF RF-gun yields a centering of the beam within the accuracy of the BPM 1.

Emittance growth in the FEL RF-gun

A high brightness and low emittance is of crucial importance for the SASE-FEL at the TESLA Test Facility. Therefore a photo-RF-gun has been installed as particle source. Numerical simulations with codes like ASTRA and MAFIA show that the space charge dominated processes inside the RF-gun contribute significantly to the emittance. In this paper we present the results of detailed studies with MAFIA TS2 which clarify the effects resulting in emittance growth for space charge dominated beams. It is shown that the resulting emittance can be minimized by changing the laser parameters like pulse length and spot size on the cathode. Additionally we present the concept of slice emittances which allows a more precise prediction of the real transverse emittance achievable with an emittance compensation scheme.