Observation and Analysis of Optical Transitions Radiation at the NPS linac and its Use for Diagnostics of Electron Beams

Abstract

An experimental technique for observing Optical Transition Radiation, (OTR), that is both simple and effective, is shown. A Macintosh II computer equipped with an image frame grabber board and Image software package allows for extensive analysis of the captured electron beam spot OTR patterns. The equipment is capable of measuring relative intensities to better than 1% for a constant source image. With beam energies of nearly 100 MeV the captured OTR images show an unexpected asymmetry in the beam intensity profile. The variations of the beam intensity and shape are shown for nominally steady beam conditions. Using Image, integrated signals of the beam spot OTR patterns for several targets as a function of beam current show a linear relationship, thereby creating a technique for computing electron beam current. Portions of the beam profile with varying percentages of beam spot maximum intensity also show a linear relationship between beam current and OTR image intensity. A radiation cone OTR pattern has been observed for the NPS linac beam. From the pattern, the Lorentz factor for the 100 MeV electrons is observed to be less than the computed value, and probably indicates the non-collinearity of the electron beam.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 1990
Accession Number
ADA236532

Entities

People

  • David M. Caldwell

Organizations

  • Naval Postgraduate School

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Biomedical
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Charged Particles
  • Computer Programs
  • Computers
  • Data Analysis
  • Electron Beams
  • Free Electron Lasers
  • Free Electrons
  • Laser Beams
  • Lasers
  • Light Sources
  • Linear Accelerators
  • Optical Equipment
  • Optics
  • Physics
  • Radiation Patterns
  • Three Dimensional
  • Two Dimensional

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Computer Vision.
  • Marine Ecotoxicology
  • Pulsed Power and Plasma Physics.

Technology Areas

  • Directed Energy
  • Microelectronics