The Effects of Accelerator Frequency and Electron Beam Focusing in Free Electron Lasers

Abstract

Lowering the frequency in a superconducting accelerator for a free electron laser (FEL) has the potential to reduce the size, cost, and power consumption of the FEL system. A lower frequency also enables the use of longer pulses, which has been shown to improve FEL performance. Using simulation codes developed at the Naval Postgraduate School, the performance of FEL amplifiers and oscillators at several accelerator frequencies is investigated. The results show that both FEL amplifier and oscillator performance can be improved by lowering the accelerator frequency. In addition, a simulation has been developed that tracks electron trajectories through several quadrupole magnets and an FEL undulator. Electron trajectories can directly impact FEL performance, and stray electrons may cause damage or harmful radiation if they strike beamline components. This simulation has potential as a future research and design tool.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 01, 2012
Accession Number
ADA576490

Entities

People

  • Adrian S. Laney

Organizations

  • Naval Postgraduate School

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Ground and Sea Platforms

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Anti-Ship Missiles
  • C Programming Language
  • Computer Programming
  • Computer Science
  • Computers
  • Current Density
  • Directed Energy Weapons
  • Electron Energy
  • Electrons
  • Free Electron Lasers
  • Free Electrons
  • Laser Beams
  • Lasers
  • Optical Properties
  • Optomechanics
  • Three Dimensional
  • X Rays

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Pulsed Power and Plasma Physics.

Technology Areas

  • Directed Energy
  • Microelectronics