Bimodal Electron Gun

Synchrotron-based or FEL-based light sources have been proven to be essential tools in many areas of research, including materials science, chemistry, biophysics and biochemistry, medicine, and physics. But their applications set stringent requirements on the desired performance of the electron gun. Successful completion of the project proposed here will allow development of a novel electron beam source to meet such demands. Electron beam brightness is the deterministic factor in the performance of light sources. This project seeks to develop a novel electron beam source using the superposition of two harmonic modes to increase acceleration gradient and improve output beam quality without increasing the RF breakdown probability. This proposed project is aimed at developing a novel electron source with high beam brightness to meet the requirements for light source applications. During Phase I, theoretical and numerical approaches will be carried out to model a two-frequency bimodal RF gun; engineering design will be initiated to implement the concept for further development during Phase II. Synchrotron-based or FEL-based light sources have proven to be essential tools in many areas of research, including materials science, chemistry, biophysics and biochemistry, medicine, and physics. This project is to develop a novel electron beam source to meet stringent requirements needed for improving the performance of light sources. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits: Successful completion of this project will provide a high-brightness beam for the next generation light sources and save overall cost for the accelerator complex. Furthermore, one can foresee wide commercial and industrial interest in this concept for high quality electron beam sources, for use in accelerator R&D, medical diagnostics and therapy.