George Biallas

First Lasing of the Jefferson Lab IR Demo FEL

As reported previously [1], Jefferson Lab is building a free-electron laser capable of generating a continuous wave kilowatt laser beam. The driver-accelerator consists of a superconducting, energy-recovery accelerator. The initial stage of the program was to produce over 100 W of average power with no recirculation. In order to provide maximum gain the initial wavelength was chosen to be 5 mu-m and the initial beam energy was chosen to be 38.5 MeV. On June 17, 1998, the laser produced 155 Watts cw power at the laser output with a 98% reflective output coupler. On July 28th, 311 Watts cw power was obtained using a 90% reflective output coupler. A summary of the commissioning activities to date as well as some novel lasing results will be summarized in this paper. Present work is concentrated on optimizing lasing at 5 mu-m, obtaining lasing at 3 mu-m, and commissioning the recirculation transport in preparation for kilowatt lasing this fall.

First operation of an FEL in same-cell energy recovery mode

The driver for Jefferson Labs kW-level infrared free-electron laser (FEL) is a superconducting, recirculating accelerator that recovers 75% of the electron-beam power and converts it to radio frequency power. As reported in FEL98, the accelerator operated straight-ahead to deliver 38 MeV, 1.1 mA cw current for lasing at wavelengths in the vicinity of 5 microns. The waste beam was sent directly to a dump, bypassing the recirculation loop. Stable operation at up to 311 W cw was achieved in this mode. The machine has now recirculated cw average current up to 4.6 mA and has lased cw with energy recovery up to 1,720 W output at 3.1 microns. This is the first FEL to ever operate in the same-cell energy recovery mode. Energy recovery offers several advantages (reduced RF power and dramatically reduced radio-nuclide production at the dump) and several challenges will be described. The authors have observed heating effects in the mirrors which will be described. They will also report on the additional performance measurements of the FEL that have been performed and connect those measurements to standard models.

An 8 cm Period Electromagnetic Wiggler Magnet with Coils Made from Sheet Copper

An electromagnetic wiggler, now lasing at the Jefferson Lab FEL, has 29 eight cm periods with K variable from 0.5 to 1.1 and gap of 2.6 cm. The wiggler was made inexpensively in 11 weeks by an industrial machine shop. The conduction cooled coil design uses copper sheet material cut to forms using water jet cutting. The conductor is cut to serpentine shapes and the cooling plates are cut to ladder shape. The sheets are assembled in stacks insulated with polymer film, also cut with water jet. The coil design extends the serpentine conductor design of the Duke OK4 to more and smaller conductors. The wiggler features graded fields in the two poles at each end and trim coils on these poles to eliminate field errors caused by saturation. An added critical feature is mirror plates at the ends with integral trim coils to eliminate three dimensional end field effects and align the entrance and exit orbit with the axis of the wiggler. Details of construction, measurement methods and excellent wiggler performance are presented.

Jefferson Lab. FEL user facility

Jefferson Labs IR Demo FEL Facility includes an associated 600 m2 user facility containing six separate laboratory areas. In the summer of 1999 we began delivery of beam int two of these labs as part of our commissioning of the FEL optical transport and laser safety systems. The high average power capability in the mid-IR, along with an ultrafast high PRF temporal structure makes this laser a unique source for both applied and basic research. While commissioning, we conducted several test, primarily of laser-materials interactions that take advantage of the unique characteristics of this FEL. An overview of the FEL facility and its current performance, along with a synopsis of current and future experiments, will be presented.

The CLAS12 torus detector magnet at Jefferson Laboratory

The CLAS12 Torus is a toroidal superconducting magnet, which is part of the detector for the 12-GeV accelerator upgrade at Jefferson Laboratory (JLab). The coils were wound/fabricated by Fermilab, with JLab responsible for all other parts of the project scope, including design, integration, cryostating the individual coils, installation, cryogenics, I&C, etc. This paper provides an overview of the CLAS12 Torus magnet features and serves as a status report of its installation in the experimental hall. Completion and commissioning of the magnet is expected in 2016.

Magnetic measurement of the 10 kW, IR FEL dipole magnets

Magnetic measurements have been performed on several families of dipoles for the 10 kW IR-FEL presently under construction at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. The requirements for these magnets include varying field strengths, large horizontal apertures and parts in 10,000 field homogeneity as well as setability of core and integrated field. Measurements were made to quantify the magnets according to these requirements and to determine the hysteresis protocol, ramp rate dependence, and field clamp settings that are used. This paper will describe the results of these measurements and the procedures used to accomplish them.

Magnetic measurement of the 10 kW, IR FEL 180 degree dipole

A family of large bending dipoles has been magnetically measured to support the 10 kW IR-FEL upgrade. This upgrade will allow for a wider wavelength range and an increase in the machine energy to operate between 80 MeV/c and 210 MeV/c. The dipole magnets allow the beam to bend 180 degrees over a 1 meter radius. The requirements for these magnets include varying field strengths, large horizontal apertures and parts in 10,000 field homogeneity as well as setability of core and integrated field. This paper will describe the process involved in measuring and achieving these requirements.

Kilowatt average-power laser for subpicosecond materials processing

The performance of laser pulses in the sub-picosecond range for materials processing is substantially enhanced over similar fluences delivered in longer pulses. Recent advances in the development of solid state lasers have progressed significantly toward the higher average powers potentially useful for many applications. Nonetheless, prospects remain distant for multi-kilowatt sub-picosecond solid state systems such as would be required for industrial scale surface processing of metals and polymers. We present operation results from the worlds first kilowatt scale ultra-fast materials processing laser. A Free Electron Laser (FEL) called the IR Demo is operational as a User Facility at Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility in Newport News, Virginia, USA. In its initial operation at high average power it is capable of wavelengths in the 2 to 6 micron range and can produce approximately 0.7 ps pulses in a continuous train at approximately 75 MHz. This pulse length has been shown to be nearly optimal for deposition of energy in materials at the surface. Upgrades in the near future will extend operation beyond 10 kW CW average power in the near IR and kilowatt levels of power at wavelengths from 0.3 to 60 microns. This paper will cover the design and performance of this groundbreaking laser and operational aspects of the User Facility.