Evgenya I. Simakov

New X-ray free-electron laser architecture for generating high fluxes of longitudinally coherent 50 keV photons

Materials science needs to study dynamic properties of high-Z materials lead to a unique and challenging set of requirements for future X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs), with single-pulse fluxes of up to 1012 50 keV X-rays that are both transversely and longitudinally coherent. These parameters cannot be met through an extension of the beam and FEL technologies used at existing and currently planned X-ray FEL facilities. We describe a novel technique to achieve higher fluxes by reducing the transverse beam emittance of high bunch charges and another to achieve longitudinal coherency by pre-modulating the electron beam current before it reaches the undulator. These techniques are investigated numerically and analytically, and also hold potential for increasing performance and decreasing cost of soft X-ray FELs.

First experimental demonstration of a photonic band gap channel-drop filter at 240 GHz

We have designed, fabricated, and tested a novel photonic band gap (PBG) channel-drop filter (CDF) operating at around 240 GHz. A PBG CDF is a device that allows the channeling of selected frequencies from continuous spectra into separate waveguides through select defects in a PBG structure. It is compact and configurable, and thus, it can be employed for millimeter-wave spectrometry with applications in communications, radio astronomy, and radar receivers for remote sensing and nonproliferation. In this paper we present the design, modeling, and fabrication methods used to produce a silicon-based PBG CDF, and demonstrate its ability to filter the frequency of 240 GHz with a linewidth of approximately 1 GHz and transmission of 25 dB above background.

Emittance Effects on Gain in

We consider the main effects of beam emittance on W-band traveling-wave tube (TWT) performance and gain. Specifically, we consider a representative dielectric TWT structure with ~5 dB/cm of gain driven by a 5-A, 20-keV, sheet electron beam that is focused by a wiggler magnetic field. The normalized beam transverse emittance must be about 1 μm or lower to ensure that both the transport is stable and the gain is not degraded by the effective energy spread arising from the emittance. This emittance limit scales roughly inversely with frequency.

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Dielectric wakefield acceleration is a promising concept for increasing the accelerating gradient above the limits of conventional accelerators. Although superior gradients are reported in short dielectric wakefield accelerator tubes, problems arise when it comes to efficiency and multi-meter long interaction lengths. Here we discuss possible issues and provide some solutions backed by simulations.

-Band TWTs

We report results from recent 2.1 GHz superconducting radio frequency (SRF) photonic band gap (PBG) resonator experiments at Los Alamos. Two 2.1 GHz PBG cells with elliptical rods were fabricated and tested at high power in a liquid helium bath at the temperatures of 4 K and below 2 K. The described SRF PBG cells were designed with a particular emphasis on changing the shape of the PBG rods to reduce peak surface magnetic fields and at the same time to preserve its effectiveness at damping higher-order-modes. The superconducting PBG cavities have great potential for damping long-range wakefields in SRF accelerator structures without affecting the fundamental accelerating mode. The cells performed in accordance with simulations predictions and the maximum achieved accelerating gradient was 18.3 MV/m. This represents a 30% increase over gradients previously demonstrated in superconducting PBG cavities with round rods.

Suppressing Parasitic Effects in a Long Dielectric Wakefield Accelerator

We present the results of our investigations of fabrication technologies for ceramic photonic band gap (PBG) structures for mm-wave traveling-wave tubes (TWTs). There is a need for a high-bandwidth, high output power TWT operating at relatively low electron-beam voltages (20 keV). The key advance needed for this technology is the development of a novel high-frequency TWT structure. We proposed to put together a TWT with a sheet electron beam in an elliptical wide-bandwidth dielectric RF structure. PBG structures can be designed to be mode-selective and enable the required wide bandwidth and output power for the TWT. We conducted a feasibility study on fabrication of dielectric PBG structures in a high-epsilon ceramic material, designed suitable RF structure, drilled holes in high-dielectric ceramic blanks, measured them and studied the effect of holes size variations and misalignments on the RF mode.

Raising gradient limitations in 2.1 GHz superconducting photonic band gap accelerator cavities

We describe a conceptual proposal to combine the Dielectric Wakefield Accelerator (DWA) with the Emittance Exchanger (EEX) to demonstrate a high-brightness DWA with a gradient of above 100 MV/m and less than 0.1% induced energy spread in the accelerated beam. We currently evaluate the DWA concept as a performance upgrade for the future LANL signature facility MaRIE with the goal of significantly reducing the electron beam energy spread. The preconceptual design for MaRIE is underway at LANL, with the design of the electron linear accelerator being one of the main research goals. Although generally the baseline design needs to be conservative and rely on existing technology, any future upgrade would immediately call for looking into the advanced accelerator concepts capable of boosting the electron beam energy up by a few GeV in a very short distance without degrading the beams quality. Scoping studies have identified large induced energy spreads as the major cause of beam quality degradation in high-grad...

Fabrication of ceramic structures for MM-wave traveling wave tubes

The use of infrared lasers to power accelerating dielectric structures is a developing area of research. Within this technology, the choice of the dielectric material forming the accelerating structures, such as the photonic band gap (PBG) structures, is dictated by a range of interrelated factors including their dielectric and optical properties, amenability to photo-polymerization, thermochemical stability and other target performance metrics of the particle accelerator. In this direction, electronic structure theory aided computational screening and design of dielectric materials can play a key role in identifying potential candidate materials with the targeted functionalities to guide experimental synthetic efforts. In an attempt to systematically understand the role of chemistry in controlling the electronic structure and dielectric properties of organic polymeric materials, here we employ empirical screening and density functional theory (DFT) computations, as a part of our multi-step hierarchal screening strategy. Our DFT based analysis focused on the bandgap, dielectric permittivity, and frequency-dependent dielectric losses due to lattice absorption as key properties to down-select promising polymer motifs. In addition to the specific application of dielectric laser acceleration, the general methodology presented here is deemed to be valuable in the design of new insulators with an attractive combination of dielectric properties.

Possibility for ultra-bright electron beam acceleration in dielectric wakefield accelerators

We present simulations of shaped electron beam production from diamond field emitter array (DFEA) cathodes [1, 2]. DFEAs are arrays of diamond pyramids with bases of the order of 10 microns that produce high current densities. These arrays can be fabricated in arbitrary shapes such as a triangle or a double triangle, so that they produce an inherently shaped beam. These transversely shaped beams can be put through an emittance exchanger (EEX) [3-7] to produce a longitudinally shaped electron beam distribution for use with high-transformer ratio wakefield accelerators. Simulations are conducted with MICHELLE. We design cathodes and focusing systems that preserve the beam’s shape while transporting it to the emittance exchanger.

Computational screening of organic polymer dielectrics for novel accelerator technologies

A multi-meter long collinear dielectric wakefield accelerator is considered, and it is shown that a single bunch breakup instability is a major limiting factor for obtaining highly efficient energy transfer from the drive bunch to the main bunch. Different methods for instability suppression are studied. Numerical simulations using a 6D particle tracking computer code are performed and tolerances to various errors are defined.