B. X. Yang

Measurements of nonlinear harmonic generation at the Advanced Photon Source's SASE FEL

SASE saturation was recently achieved at the Advanced Photon Sources SASE FEL in the low-energy undulator test line (LEUTL) at 530 nm and 385 nm. The electron beam microbunching becomes more and more prominent until saturation is achieved. This bunching causes nonlinear harmonic emission that extends the usefulness of a SASE system in achieving shorter FEL wavelengths for the same electron beam energy. They have investigated the intensity of the fundamental and second-harmonic undulator radiation as a function of distance along the undulator line and present the experimental results and compare them to numerical simulations. In addition, they have measured the single-shot second harmonic spectra as well as the simultaneous fundamental and second harmonic spectra and present the experimental results.

Planned use of pulsed crab cavities for short X-ray pulsed generation at the Advanced Photon Source

Recently, we have explored application to the Advanced Photon Source (APS) of Zholents[1] crab cavity scheme for production of short x-ray pulses. We assumed use of superconducting (SC) cavities in order to have a continuous stream of crabbed bunches and flexibility of operating modes. The challenges of the SC approach are related to the size, cost, and development time of the cavities and associated systems. A good case can be made [2] for a pulsed system using room-temperature cavities. APS has elected to pursue such a system in the near term, with the SC-based system planned for a later date. This paper describes the motivation for the pulsed system and gives an overview of the planned implementation and issues. Among these are overall configuration options and constraints, cavity design options, frequency choice, cavity design challenges, tolerances, instabilities, and diagnostics plans.

Status of the APS diagnostics undulator beamline

We report the status of the diagnostics undulator beamline for the Advanced Photon Source (APS) storage ring. The beamline was designed for the characterization of the 7-GeV, low-emittance positron beam at high resolution. The special diagnostics undulator has been manufactured by STI Optronics. The device exhibits very low magnetic field errors at closed gap of 10.5 mm: first field integral less than 15 gauss/spl middot/cm, and optical phase error less than 1.5/spl deg/. The front end of the beamline and a monochromator are installed and tested for use on divergence and directional stability measurements with a target resolution of 3 /spl mu/rad utilizing the first harmonic radiation of 25 keV. Initial results for the divergence measurement show that the storage ring is operating well within its design goals.

Present status and recent results from the APS SASE FEL

The Low-Energy Undulator Test Line (LEUTL) at the Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, is intended to demonstrate the basic operation of a SASE-based free-electron laser. Goals include comparison of experimental results With theoretical predictions and scaling laws, identification of problems relevant to fourth-generation light source construction and operation and the means of addressing them, the development of operational and diagnostic techniques to optimize SASE FEL performance and increase repeatability from run to run. and performance of initial pioneering experiments capable of exploiting the unique properties of the laser. The basic layout and operational philosophy of the LEUTL experiment is presented. A summary of past results, including saturation, is reviewed, and a description of recent results is presented. We conclude with future plans, which include pressing to shorter wavelengths and incorporating user experiments into the LEUTL experimental program. (Less)

Recent Developments in Measurement and Tracking of the APS Storage Ring Beam Emittance

The x-ray pinhole camera is used at the APS storage ring to measure the beam emittance. The measured data are archived during user operation. At 1 Hz bandwidth, we have achieved better than 1 μm stability in the measured horizontal beam size, typically of 143 μm, corresponding to 8 nm⋅rad. During user runs, beam size variations up to 2.5 μm were observed (corresponding to emittance variations of 0.4 nm⋅rad), which were strongly correlated and attributed to the variation of electron energy loss in the insertion devices. In other words, the user-initiated insertion device gap changes are the major factor in observed beam emittance variations during user runs.

Design and performance of a compact imaging system for the APS linac bunch compressor

We present the design and performance of a high-resolution, high charge sensitivity imaging camera system for the APS linac beam profile measurement. The electron beam distribution is converted to a light intensity distribution using standard YAG or optical transition radiation (OTR) screens. Two CCD cameras share the light through a beam splitter, each with its own imaging optics. One camera is normally set to a low magnification to give a full view of the converter screen (20 mm /spl times/ 15 mm), and the other is set to a high magnification for measuring small beam. The overall dimension of the camera system is 400 mm /spl times/ 165 mm /spl times/ 110 mm. The focus and irises are driven by stepper motors and are remotely controlled. The fixed magnification and remotely controlled focus enable high reproducibility during beam-based setup of the optics. On a bench test, the camera gave a better than 10-/spl mu/m resolution and better than 1% reproducibility of the magnification.

Evidence for transverse dependencies in COTR and microbunching in a SASE FEL.

Using coherent optical transition radiation (COTR) techniques, we have observed transverse dependencies, which in some aspects relate to the electron beam microbunching in a visible wavelength (540 nm) self-amplified spontaneous emission (SASE) free-electron laser (FEL). The experimental COTR observations include the z-dependent e-beam sizes, the z-dependent angular distributions, and the z-dependent spectra (which show an x-dependence). A 30-40% narrowing of the observed beam size using COTR is explainable by the mechanisms dependence on the square of the number of microbunched particles. However, additional effects are needed to explain beam size reductions by factors of 2-3 at different z locations. Localized e-beam structure in the gun or induced in the bunch compression process may result in microbunching transverse dependence, and hence the observed COTR effects.

Comprehensive z-dependent measurements of electron-beam microbunching using COTR in a saturated SASE FEL☆

We report the initial, comprehensive set of z-dependent measurements of electron-beam microbunching using coherent optical transition radiation (COTR) in a saturated self-amplified spontaneous emission (SASE) free-electron laser (FEL) experiment. In this case the FEL was operated near 530 nm using an enhanced facility including a bunch-compressed photocathode gun electron beam, linac, and 21.6 m of undulator length. The longitudinal microbunching was tracked by inserting a metal foil and mirror after each of the nine 2.4-m-long undulators and measuring the visible COTR spectra, intensity, angular, distribution, and spot size. We observed for the first time the z-dependent transition of the COTR spectra from simple lines to complex structure/sidebands near saturation. We also observed the change in the microbunching fraction after saturation, multiple fringes in the COTR interferogram that are consistent with involvement of a smaller core of the e-beam transverse distribution, and the second harmonic content of the microbunching. The results will be compared to relevant calculations using GENESIS and/or GINGER.

Utilization of CTR to measure the evolution of electron-beam microbunching in a self-amplified spontaneous emission (SASE) free-electron laser (FEL)

We report on the first measurements of the z-dependent evolution of electron-beam microbunching as revealed through coherent transition radiation (CTR) measurements in a visible self-amplified spontaneous emission free-electron laser experiment. The increase in microbunching was detected by tracking the growth of the visible CTR signals as generated from insertable metal mirrors/foils after each of the last three undulators. The same optical imaging diagnostics that were used to track the z-dependent intensity of the undulator radiation (UR) were also used to track the electron beam/CTR information. Angular distribution, beam size, and intensity data were obtained after each of the last three undulators in the five-undulator series, and spectral information was obtained after the last undulator. The exponential growth rate of the CTR was found to be very similar to that of the UR and consistent with simulations using the code GENESIS.

Characterizing transverse beam dynamics at the APS storage ring using a dual-sweep streak camera.

We present a novel technique for characterizing transverse beam dynamics using a dual-sweep streak camera. The camera is used to record the front view of successive beam bunches and/or successive turns of the bunches. This extension of the dual-sweep technique makes it possible to display non-repeatable beam transverse motion in two fast and slow time scales of choice, and in a single shot. We present a study of a transverse multi-bunch instability in the APS storage ring. The positions, sizes, and shapes of 20 bunches (2.84 ns apart) in the train, in 3 to 14 successive turns (3.68 μs apart) are recorded in a single image, providing rich information about the unstable beam. These include the amplitude of the oscillation (∼0 mm at the head of the train and ∼2 mm towards the end of the train), the bunch-to-bunch phase difference, and the significant transverse size growth within the train. In the second example, the technique is used to characterize the injection kicker-induced beam motion, in support of th...