George R. Neil

High-power terahertz radiation from relativistic electrons

Terahertz (THz) radiation, which lies in the far-infrared region, is at the interface of electronics and photonics. Narrow-band THz radiation can be produced by free-electron lasers and fast diodes. Broadband THz radiation can be produced by thermal sources and, more recently, by table-top laser-driven sources and by short electron bunches in accelerators, but so far only with low power. Here we report calculations and measurements that confirm the production of high-power broadband THz radiation from subpicosecond electron bunches in an accelerator. The average power is nearly 20 watts, several orders of magnitude higher than any existing source, which could enable various new applications. In particular, many materials have distinct absorptive and dispersive properties in this spectral range, so that THz imaging could reveal interesting features. For example, it would be possible to image the distribution of specific proteins or water in tissue, or buried metal layers in semiconductors; the present source would allow full-field, real-time capture of such images. High peak and average power THz sources are also critical in driving new nonlinear phenomena and for pump–probe studies of dynamical properties of materials.

Vacuum Electronic High Power Terahertz Sources

Recent research and development has been incredibly successful at advancing the capabilities for vacuum electronic device (VED) sources of powerful terahertz (THz) and near-THz coherent radiation, both CW or average and pulsed. Currently, the VED source portfolio covers over 12 orders of magnitude in power (mW-to-GW) and two orders of magnitude in frequency (from <; 0.1 to >; 10 THz). Further advances are still possible and anticipated. They will be enabled by improved understanding of fundamental beam-wave interactions, electromagnetic mode competition and mode control, along with research and development of new materials, fabrication methods, cathodes, electron beam alignment and focusing, magnet technologies, THz metrology and advanced, broadband output radiation coupling techniques.

Single-element laser beam shaper for uniform flat-top profiles

A novel design method is presented for a simple laser beam shaper. Unlike earlier reports and designs based on the 2-element model, we prove it is possible to convert a laser beam from a non-uniform profile to a uniform flat-top distribution with one single aspherical lens.

Production of high power femtosecond terahertz radiation

The terahertz (THz) region of the electromagnetic spectrum is attracting interest for a broad range of applications ranging from diagnosing electron beams to biological imaging. Most sources of short pulse THz radiation utilize excitation of biased semiconductors or electro-optic crystals by high peak power lasers. For example, this was done by using an un-doped InAs wafer irradiated by a femtosecond free-electron laser (FEL) at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. Microwatt levels of THz radiation were detected when excited with FEL pulses at 1.06 mm wavelength and 10W average power. Recently substantially higher powers of femtosecond THz pulses produced by synchrotron emission were extracted from the electron beamline. Calculations and measurements confirm the production of coherent broadband THz radiation from relativistic electrons with an average power of nearly 20W, a world record in this wavelength range by a factor of 10,000. We describe the source, presenting theoretical calculations and their experimental verification. Potential applications of this exciting new source include driving new non-linear phenomena, performing pump-probe studies of dynamical properties of novel materials, and studying molecular vibrations and rotations, low frequency protein motions, phonons, superconductor band gaps, electronic scattering, collective electronic excitations (e.g., charge density waves), and spintronics.

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.

High power operation of the JLab IR FEL driver accelerator

Operation of the JLab IR Upgrade FEL at CW powers in excess of 10 kW requires sustained production of high electron beam powers by the driver ERL. This in turn demands attention to numerous issues and effects, including: cathode lifetime; control of beamline and RF system vacuum during high current operation; longitudinal space charge; longitudinal and transverse matching of irregular/large volume phase space distributions; halo management; management of remnant dispersive effects; resistive wall, wake-field, and RF heating of beam vacuum chambers; the beam break up instability; the impact of coherent synchrotron radiation (both on beam quality and the performance of laser optics); magnetic component stability and reproducibility; and RF stability and reproducibility. We discuss our experience with these issues and describe the modus vivendi that has evolved during prolonged high current, high power beam and laser operation.

Analysis of the FEL-RF interaction in recirculating energy-recovering linacs with an FEL

Abstract Recirculating, energy-recovering linacs can be used as driver accelerators for high power FELs. Instabilities which arise from fluctuations of the cavity fields are investigated. Energy changes can cause beam loss on apertures, phase oscillations and optical cavity detuning. These effects in turn cause changes in the laser output power through a time-varying FEL gain function. All three effects change the beam-induced voltage in the cavities and can lead to unstable variations of the accelerating field and output laser power. We have developed a model of the coupled system and solved it both analytically and numerically. It includes the beam-cavity interaction, low level RF feedback, and the electron–photon interaction. The latter includes the FEL gain function in terms of cavity detuning, energy offset, and is valid both in the small signal gain and in the saturated regimes. We have demonstrated that in the limit of small perturbations, the linear theory agrees with the numerical solutions and have performed numerical simulations for the IR FEL presently being commissioned at Jefferson Lab.

FEL design using the CEBAF linac

Conceptual studies of two free-electron lasers (FELs) located at the output of the front end and north linac of the CEBAF (Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility) accelerator are conducted. The high average beam power and the superior electron beam quality produced by the linac yield projections of tunable output power that substantially exceed existing and most proposed sources. The tolerances for most FEL components are not severe but the high optical power requires careful consideration and, perhaps, special optical cavity arrangements and mirror designs.<<ETX>>

Self-trapped states in proteins?

We show here that the temperature dependence of the amide I band of myoglobin shows evidence for a low-lying self-trapped state at 6.15 µm. We have conducted a careful set of picosecond pump–probe experiments providing results as a function of temperature and wavelength and show that this low-lying state has a 30 ps lifetime at 50 K, much longer than the relaxation time of the main amide I band at 50 K. Fits of the temperature dependence of thermal occupation of this state yield the result that it lies 280 K below the main amide I band. Since the gap energy of this state is approximately equal to room temperature, this self-trapped state can act as a transient store of vibrational energy at physiological temperatures in biomolecules and can help to direct the path of energy flow in a biomolecule under biological conditions.

The TRW/Stanford tapered wiggler oscillator

Abstract We report the operation of the first tapered wiggler free electron laser oscillator. The laser operated at 1.6 μm output with a peak power of 1.3 MW. With the wiggler taper adjusted to 0, 1 and 2%, extraction efficiencies of 0.4, 1.1 and 1.2%, respectively, were obtained.