J.M. Byrd

Demonstration of femtosecond-phase stabilization in 2 km optical fiber

Long-term phase drifts of less than a femtosecond per hour have been demonstrated in a 2 km length of single-mode optical fiber, stabilized interferometrically at 1530 nm. Recent improvements include a wide-band phase detector that reduces the possibility of fringe jumping due to fast external perturbations of the fiber and locking of the master CW laser wavelength to an atomic absorption line. Mode-locked lasers may be synchronized using two wavelengths of the comb, multiplexed over one fiber, each wavelength individually interferometrically stabilized.

Harmonic cavities and longitudinal beam stability in electron storage rings

Harmonic cavities have been used in storage rings to increase beam lifetime and Landau damping by lengthening the bunch. The need for lifetime increase is particularly great in the present generation of low to medium energy synchrotron light sources where the small transverse beam sizes lead to relatively short lifetimes from large-angle intrabeam (Touschek) scattering. We review the beam dynamics of harmonic radiofrequency (RF) systems and discuss effects on longitudinal beam stability.

LCLS LLRF Upgrades to the SLAC linac

The Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) at SLAC will be the brightest X-ray laser in the world when it comes on line. In order to achieve the brightness a 200fS length electron bunch is passed through an undulator. To create the 200fS, 3kA bunch, a 10pS electron bunch, created from a photo cathode in an RF gun, is run off crest on the RF to set up a position to energy correlation. The bunch is then compressed by chicanes. The stability of the RF system is critical in setting up the position to energy correlation. Specifications derived from simulations require the RF system to be stable to below 200fS in several critical injector stations and the last kilometer of linac. The SLAC linac RF system is being upgraded to meet these requirements.

Collision rate monitors for LHC

Collision rate monitors are essential in bringing particle beams into collision and optimizing the performances of a collider. In the case of LHC the relative luminosity will be monitored by measuring the flux of small angle neutral particles produced in the collisions. Due to the very different luminosity levels at the four interaction regions (IR) of LHC two different types of monitors have been developed. At the high luminosity IR (ATLAS and CMS) fast ionization chambers will be installed while at the other two (ALICE and LHC-b) solid state polycrystalline Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) detectors will be used. The ionization chambers are being developed by LBNL while the CdTe monitors are being developed by CERN and CEA-LETI.

A high repetition rate VUV-soft X-ray FEL concept

We report on design studies for a seeded FEL light source that is responsive to the scientific needs of the future. The FEL process increases radiation flux by several orders of magnitude above existing incoherent sources, and offers the additional enhancements attainable by optical manipulations of the electron beam: control of the temporal duration and bandwidth of the coherent output, reduced gain length in the FEL, utilization of harmonics to attain shorter wavelengths, and precise synchronization of the X-ray pulse with seed laser systems. We describe an FEL facility concept based on a high repetition rate RF photocathode gun, that would allow simultaneous operation of multiple independent FELs, each producing high average brightness, tunable over the VUV-soft X-ray range, and each with individual performance characteristics determined by the configuration of the FEL. SASE, enhanced-SASE (ESASE), seeded, harmonic generation, and other configurations making use of optical manipulations of the electron beam may be employed, providing a wide range of photon beam properties to meet varied user demands.

Plans for precision RF controls for FERMI@ELETTRA

FERMI@ELETTRA is a 4th generation light source under construction at Sincrotrone Trieste. It will be operated as a seeded FEL driven by a warm S-band Linac presently serving as the injector for the ELETTRA storage ring. Operation as an FEL driver places much more stringent specifications on control of the amplitude and phase of the RF stations than in its present operation. This paper describes a conceptual design of new RF controls to achieve these specifications. The system consists of a stabilized distribution of the master oscillator signal providing a reference to local digital RF controllers. The RF controller is based on recent improvements on modern digital systems, using a 16-bit high speed digitizer in combination with an FPGA and high speed DAC.

Experimental tests of a prototype system for active damping of the e-p instability at the lanl PSR

A prototype of an analog, transverse (vertical) feedback system for active damping of the two-stream (e-p) instability has been developed and successfully tested at the Los Alamos national laboratory proton storage ring (PSR). This system was able to improve the instability threshold by approximately 30% (as measured by the change in RF buncher voltage at instability threshold). Evidence obtained from these tests suggests that further improvement in performance is limited by beam leakage into the gap at lower RF buncher voltage and the onset of instability in the horizontal plane, which had no feedback. Here we describe the present system configuration, system optimization, results of several recent experimental tests, and results from studies of factors limiting its performance.

Measurements of the propagation of EM waves through the vacuum chamber of the PEP-II Low Energy Ring for beam diagnostics

We present the results of our measurements of the electron cloud density in the PEP-II low energy ring (LER) by propagating a TE wave into the beam pipe. By connecting a signal generator to a beam position monitor button we can excite a signal above the vacuum chamber cut-off frequency and measure its propagation through the beam pipe with a spectrum analyzer connected to another button about 50 meters away. The measurement can be performed with different beam conditions and also at different settings of the solenoids used to reduce the build up of electrons. The presence of a modulation in the TE wave transmission, synchronous with the beam revolution frequency, which appear to increase in depth when the solenoids are switched off, seem to be directly correlated to the electron cloud density in the region between the two BPMs. In this paper we present and discuss the measurements taken in the interaction region 12 straight of the LER during 2006 and the first part of 2007.

Impedance study for the PEP-II B-factory

The paper summarizes results of the impedance studies of the components of the B-factory. The prime goal of this activity was to support the design of the vacuum chamber and, at the same time, to get reasonable model of the machine impedance, which can be used later for detail studies of collective effects.

Measurements of impedance and beam instabilities at the Australian Synchrotron

In this paper we present the first measurements of machine impedance and observed beam instabilities at the Australian Synchrotron. Impedance measurements are made by studying the single bunch behaviour with beam current, using optical and X-ray diagnostic beamlines. An observed coupled-bunch instability, its cause and cure is also discussed.