Design and operation of a superconducting quarter-wave electron gun

J. R. Harris, K. L. Ferguson, J. W. Lewellen, S. P. Niles, B. Rusnak, R. L. Swent, W. B. Colson, T. I. Smith, C. H. Boulware, T. L. Grimm, P. R. Cunningham, M. S. Curtin, D. C. Miccolis, D. J. Sox, W. S. Graves

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

31 Scopus citations

Abstract

Superconducting radio-frequency electron guns are viewed by many as the preferred technology for generating the high-quality, high-current beams needed for future high power free-electron lasers and energy recovery linacs. All previous guns of this type have employed elliptical cavities, but there are potential advantages associated with other geometries. Here we describe the design, commissioning, and initial results from a superconducting radio-frequency electron gun employing a quarter-wave resonator configuration, the first such device to be built and tested. In initial operation, the gun has generated beams with bunch charge in excess of 78 pC, energy of 469 keV, and normalized rms emittances of about 4.9μm. Currently, bunch charge is limited by the available drive laser energy, and beam energy is limited by x-ray production and the available rf power. No fundamental limits on beam charge or energy have been encountered, and no high-field quenching events have been observed.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number053501
JournalPhysical Review Special Topics - Accelerators and Beams
Volume14
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - May 5 2011
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Nuclear and High Energy Physics
  • Physics and Astronomy (miscellaneous)
  • Surfaces and Interfaces

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