Ultrafast High Brightnesss Electron Beams

University Of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles CA

Investigators

Abstract

This project will study the fundamental limits in peak brightness of electron accelerator beams set by the interplay between the properties of electron sources, laser technology and beam physics. Beam brightness is a key measure of performance of a particle accelerator, with electron accelerators at the core of many scientific and industrial applications. One important characteristic of these devices is that the brightness of an electron beam cannot be improved along the beamline from the source to the end-use, and instead tends to deteriorate. This is the fundamental reason why improvements to the quality of the electron beam sources are critical to improving the end-use performance of electron accelerators all around the world. The figure of merit for electron beam quality is the so called beam brightness or phase space density which depends strongly on the accelerating field the electrons see as soon as the particles are photo-emitted by a cathode surface. Increasing this field, exploring the behavior of different photocathode materials in high field environments, and developing novel diagnostics to assess the six dimensional phase space beam properties after the source are the main components of this project. Achieving unprecedented electron beam brightness will enable novel e-beam source applications such as dielectric laser acceleration, time-resolved electron microscopes and compact x-ray sources. This project will also enable training of a new generation of accelerator scientists with broad interdisciplinary preparation and full hands-on educational experience.