Development of High Performance Electron Beam Switching System for Swiss Free Electron Laser at PSI

A compact X-ray Free Electron Laser (SwissFEL) is under development at the Paul Scherrer Institute. To increase facility efficiency the main linac will operate in two electron bunch mode. The two bunches are separated in time by 28 ns and sent to two undulator lines. The combination of two beam lines should produce short X-ray pulses covering wavelength range from 1 to 70 {AA} with submicron position stability. To separate the two bunches, a novel electron beam switching system is being developed. The total deflection is achieved with a combination of high Q-factor resonant deflector magnet, followed by a DC septum magnet. The shot-to-shot deflection stability of the entire switching system should be <+/-10 ppm in amplitude and +/-100 ps in time, values which present severe measurement difficulties. Deflection magnets requirements, development and results of the kicker prototype are presented.

Sub-nanosecond Electron Emission from Electrically Gated Field Emitting Arrays

Field Emitting Arrays (FEAs) are a promising alternative to the conventional cathodes in different vacuum electronic devices such as traveling wave tubes, electron accelerators and etc. Electrical gating and modulation capabilities, together with the ability to produce stable and homogeneous electron beam in high electric field environment are the key requirements for their practical application. Due to relatively high gate capacitance, fast controlling of FEA emission is difficult. In order to achieve sub-nanosecond, electrically controlled, FEA based electron emission a special pulsed gate driver was developed. Bipolar high voltage (HV)pulses are used to rapidly inject and remove charge form FEA gate electrode controlling quickly electron extraction gate voltage. Short electron emission pulses (<600 ps FWHM) were observed in low and high gradient (up to 12 MV/m) environment. First attempts were made to combine FEA based electron emission with radio frequency acceleration structures (1.5 GHz) using pulsed preacceleration. The gate driver design together with low inductance FEA chip contact system is described. The results obtained in low and high gradient experimental setups are presented and discussed.

Tesla transformer based 500 kv pulser for low emittance test stand at Paul Scherrer Institute

For the Low Emittance Gun (LEG) project at Paul Scherrer Institute a stable and reliable high voltage pulsed generator was needed in order to study low emittance beams generation and transport. The system had to provide variable asymmetric voltage pulse up to -500 kV with amplitude stability better than 1.2 part per thousand (ppt). The pulse should be applied to the cathode of variable gap accelerating diode providing voltage gradients up to more than 100 MV/m. A broad bandwidth electrical connection to the cathode is necessary in order to deliver fast cathode gating signal. The design of the pulser is presented as well as the optimization and implementation of some critical components in the system. A detailed electrical model of the pulsed generator was created in order to optimize and study its electrical behavior. The measured waveforms are compared to the simulated ones and output amplitude stability is discussed. Different electrode materials and surface treatments were studied to ensure breakdown free operation of the gun at high electrical gradients. Diamond Like Carbon (DLC) coating has shown excellent vacuum gap insulation capabilities reaching surface breakdown electric field of more than 250 MV/m. The designed high voltage system showed very good stability and reliability and it was a useful tool for many cathode and electron beam studies.

Experimental Study of Diamond Like Carbon (DLC) Coated Electrodes for Pulsed High Gradient Electron Gun

For the SwissFEL Free Electron Laser project at the Paul Scherrer Institute, a pulsed High Gradient (HG) electron gun was used to study low emittance electron sources. Different metals and surface treatments for the cathode and anode were studied for their HG suitability. Diamond Like Carbon (DLC) coatings are found to perform exceptionally well for vacuum gap insulation. A set of DLC coated electrodes with different coating parameters were tested for both vacuum breakdown and photo electron emission. Surface electric fields over 250MV/m (350 - 400kV, pulsed) were achieved without breakdown. From the same surface, it was possible to photo-emit an electron beam at gradients up to 150MV/m. The test setup and the experimental results are presented

Empirical comparison of high gradient achievement for different metals in DC and pulsed mode

For the SwissFEL project, an advanced high gradient low emittance gun is under development. Reliable operation with an electric field, preferably above 125 MV/m at a 4 mm gap, in the presence of an UV laser beam, has to be achieved in a diode configuration in order to minimize the emittance dilution due to space charge effects. In the first phase, a DC breakdown test stand was used to test different metals with different preparation methods at voltages up to 100 kV. In addition high gradient stability tests were also carried out over several days in order to prove reliable spark-free operation with a minimum dark current. In the second phase, electrodes with selected materials were installed in the 250 ns FWHM, 500 kV electron gun and tested for high gradient breakdown and for quantum efficiency using an ultra-violet laser.