Reducing the Heat Load on the LCLS 120 Hz RF Gun with RF Pulse Shaping
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Abstract is not provided
High-current low-emittance CW electron beams are indispensable for nuclear and high-energy physics fixed target and collider experiments, cooling high energy hadron beams, generating CW beams of monoenergetic X-rays (in FELs) and gamma-rays (in Compton sources). Polarization of electrons in these beams provides extra value by opening a new set of observables and frequently improving the data quality. We report on the upgrade of the unique and fully functional CW SRF 1.25 MeV SRF gun, built as part of the Coherent electron Cooling (CeC) project, which has demonstrated sustained CW operation with CsK2Sb photocathodes generating electron bunches with record-low transverse emittances and record-high bunch charge exceeding 10 nC. We propose to extend the capabilities of this system to high average current of 100 milliampere in two steps: increasing the current 30-fold at each step with the goal to demonstrate reliable long-term operation of the high-current low-emittance CW SRF guns. We also propose to test polarized GaAs photocathodes in the ultra-high vacuum (UHV) environment of the SRF gun, which has never been successfully demonstrated in RF accelerators.
Various continuous-wave (CW) electron gun technologies are reviewed, including DC, superconducting radio frequency RF (SRF), hybrid DC-SRF and normal-conducting RF. Also, the SLAC Linac Coherent Light Source II (LCLS-II) normal-conducting RF gun and injector are described, and the performance to date, including the bunch emittance achieved and the dark current observed, is presented.
A short pulse high gradient RF gun has been recently tested at Argonne Wakefield Accelerator (AWA) facility. The carried-out test showed that the 1,5-cell gun was able to inject 3 MeV, up to 100 pC bunches at room tem-perature being fed by 9 ns up to 300 MW 11.7 GHz puls-es. The cathode field was as high as about 400 MV/m. So high field is aimed to mitigate repealing Coulomb forces substantially. In accordance with simulations the emit-tance could be as low as less than 0.2 mcm. To obtain so low emittance in the experiment, the gun is assumed to be equipped with a downstream linac to be fed from the same power extractor as the gun itself. Here we report design of the RF power distribution system splitting RF power among the gun and the linac, results of low-power tests, and emittance measurement plans for upcoming new experiment at AWA.
Un-gated thermionic cathode RF guns are well known as a robust source of electrons for many accelerator applications. These sources are in principle scalable to high currents without degradation of the transverse emittance due to control grids but they are also known for being limited by back-bombardment. While back-bombardment presents a significant limitation, there is still a lack of general understanding on how emission over the whole RF period will affect the nature of the beams produced from these guns. In order to improve our understanding of how these guns can be used in general we develop analytical models that predict the transmission efficiency as a function of the design parameters, study how bunch compression and emission enhancement caused by Schottky barrier lowering affect the output current profile in the gun, and study the onset of space-charge limited effects and the resultant virtual cathode formation leading to a modulation in the output current distribution.
A new S-band Photo-cathode (PC) gun was recently installed and RF conditioned at the Advanced Photon Source (APS) Injector Test-stand (ITS) at Argonne National Lab (ANL). The APS PC gun is a LCLS type gun fabricated at SLAC [1]. The PC gun was delivered to the APS in October 2013 and installed in the APS ITS in December 2013. At ANL, we developed a new method of fast detection and mitigation of the guns internal arcs during the RF conditioning process to protect the gun from arc damage and to RF condition more efficiently. Here, we report the results of RF measurements for the PC gun and an Auto-Restart method for high power RF conditioning.
A new X-band RF gun (Mark-0) has been assembled, tuned and was tested in the ASTA facility at SLAC. This gun has been improved from an earlier gun used in Compton-scattering experiments at SLAC by the introduction of a racetrack dual-input coupler to reduce quadrupole fields. Waveguide-to-coupler irises were also redesigned to reduce surface magnetic fields and therefore peak pulse surface heating. Tests of this photocathode gun will allow us to gain early operational experience for beam tests of a new gun with further improvements (Mark-1) being prepared for SLAC's X-Band Test Area (XTA) program and the LLNL MEGa-ray program. Results of current testing up to {approx} 200 MV/m peak surface Electric fields are presented.
LCLS is presently operating with a third copper photocathode in the original rf gun, with a quantum efficiency (QE) of {approx}1 x 10{sup -4} and projected emittance {gamma}{var_epsilon}{sub x,y} = 0.45 {micro}m at 250 pC bunch charge. The spare LCLS gun is installed in the SLAC Accelerator Structure Test Area (ASTA), fully processed to high rf power. As part of a wider photocathode R and D program, a UV laser system and additional gun diagnostics are being installed at ASTA to measure QE, QE lifetime, and electron beam emittance under a variety of operating conditions. The near-term goals are to test and verify the spare photocathode production/installation sequence, including transfer from the final holding chamber to the rf gun. Mid- and longer-term goals include development of a rigorous understanding of plasma and laser-assisted surface conditioning and investigation of new, high-QE photocathode materials. In parallel, an x-ray photoemission spectroscopy station is nearing completion, to analyze Cu photocathode surface chemistry. In this paper we review the status and anticipated operating parameters of ASTA and the spectroscopy test chamber.
The first copper cathode installed in the LCLS RF gun was used during LCLS commissioning for more than a year. However, after high charge operation (> 500 pC), the cathode showed a decline of quantum efficiency within the area of drive laser illumination. They report results of SEM, XPS and XAS studies that were carried out on this cathode after it was removed from the gun. X-ray absorption and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy reveal surface contamination by various hydrocarbon compounds. In addition they report on the performance of the second installed cathode with emphasis on the spatial distribution of electron emission.
In this paper we derive analytical expressions for the output current of an un-gated thermionic cathode RF gun in the presence of back-bombardment heating. We provide a brief overview of back-bombardment theory and discuss comparisons between the analytical back-bombardment predictions and simulation models. We then derive an expression for the output current as a function of the RF repetition rate and discuss relationships between back-bombardment, field-enhancement, and output current. We discuss in detail the relevant approximations and then provide predictions about how the output current should vary as a function of repetition rate for some given system configurations.
Recent work at Fermilab in collaboration with the Advanced Photon Source and members of other national labs, designed an experiment to study the relationship between the RF repetition rate and the average current per RF pulse. While existing models anticipate a direct relationship between these two parameters we observed an inverse relationship. We believe this is a result of damage to the barium coating on the cathode surface caused by a change in back-bombardment power that is unaccounted for in the existing theories. These observations shed new light on the challenges and fundamental limitations associated with scaling an ungated thermionic cathode RF gun to high average current.
In this paper, we present the preliminary results of the performance of magnesium cathode in a high frequency RF gun. The quantum efficiency of magnesium showed a dramatic improvement upon laser cleaning, increasing from 10{sup -5} to 4x10{sup -4} after two hours of cleaning. The spatial uniformity of emission also improved from a spot to spot variation of 10 to a variation of 2. Measurements with charges >1 nC indicate that the transient variation of the field due to the shielding effect of the electron in the vicinity of the cathode may play a critical role in the efficient extraction of electrons. Comprehensive theory that includes the electron emission in the presence of a time dependent Schottky effect and RF effects will be discussed.
The motivation for this work was the observed surface contamination of the first LCLS RF gun copper cathode. We will present the results of simulations in regards to ion migration in the LCLS gun. Ions of residual gases will be created by interaction of molecular gas species with the UV drive laser beam and by the electron beam itself. The larger part of those ionized molecules remain in the vicinity of creation, are transported towards beam line walls or away from the cathode. However a small fraction gains enough kinetic energy, focused by RF and magnetic fields and propagates to the cathode, producing an undesirable increase of the cathode's surface work function. Although this fraction is small, during long term operation, this effect may become a significant factor limiting the source performance.
In support of the MEGa-ray program at LLNL and the High Gradient research program at SLAC, a new X-band multi-cell RF gun is being developed. This gun, similar to earlier guns developed at SLAC for Compton X-ray source program, will be a standing wave structure made of 5.5 cells operating in the pi mode with copper cathode. This gun was designed following criteria used to build SLAC X-band high gradient accelerating structures. It is anticipated that this gun will operate with surface electric fields on the cathode of 200 MeV/m with low breakdown rate. RF will be coupled into the structure through a final cell with symmetric duel feeds and with a shape optimized to minimize quadrupole field components. In addition, geometry changes to the original gun, operated with Compton X-ray source, will include a wider RF mode separation, reduced surface electric and magnetic fields.
In this paper we derive analytical expressions for the output current of an un-gated thermionic cathode RF gun in the presence of back-bombardment heating. We provide a brief overview of back-bombardment theory and discuss comparisons between the analytical back-bombardment predictions and simulation models. We then derive an expression for the output current as a function of the RF repetition rate and discuss relationships between back-bombardment, fieldenhancement, and output current. We discuss in detail the relevant approximations and then provide predictions about how the output current should vary as a function of repetition rate for some given system configurations.
We report on dark current and Schottky-enabled photoemission from a copper photocathode surface. Field-emitted dark current is a major gradient-limiting factor in RF cavities. Field emission is generally attributed to geometrical projections on the bulk surface whose field enhancement factor ({beta}) and the emitting area (A{sub e}) can be extracted from the Fowler-Nordheim (FN) plot. Measurements were made at Tsinghua S-band RF gun facility in two separate experiments. Using the traditional FN formula for RF fields we discovered that field enhancement factor ({beta}) alone cannot explain the full data set. Instead, we found that a low work function at some sites is required. In addition, surface analysis of the cathode after the experiment shows that geometric {beta} indicated would be < 10. Thus we conclude that low work function sites with a small {beta} are responsible for dark current emission and subsequent breakdown in high-gradient structures. The origin of these sites is unclear but could be due to defects or impurities.