In this paper, we explore a method to manipulate low energy electron bunches in a space charge dominated regime, and we use this method to design low energy linac bunch compressors to compress electron bunches in a space charge dominated regime. In the method, we use the space charge effects instead of avoiding them; i.e., we use the space charge forces to generate the required energy chirp instead of the ordinary method which uses the rf accelerating system to generate the chirp. We redefine the concepts of the dispersion function and beta functions in a space charge dominated regime to guide the optimization. Using this method, we study the low energy (5–22 MeV) linac bunch compressor design to produce short ($\sim 150\mathrm{fs}$) and small size ($\sim 30\mu \mathrm{m}$) bunches for the electron beam slicing project. The low energy linac bunch compressors work in a space charge dominated regime, and the bunches at the downstream of the gun have a negative energy chirp due to the space charge effects. To provide compression for the negative energy chirped bunch, we design a positive $R_{56}$ dispersive section using a four-dipole chicane with several quadrupole magnets. We have designed low energy linac bunch compressors with different photocathode rf guns. For example, one linac bunch compressor with the BNL photocathode electron rf gun has achieved a low energy bunch with the 166 fs rms bunch length, 28 and $31\mu \mathrm{m}$ rms beam size in the vertical and horizontal directions, respectively, at 5 MeV with 50 pC charge. Another example with LBNL’s very-high frequency gun has achieved a low energy bunch with the 128 fs rms bunch length, 42 and $25\mu \mathrm{m}$ rms beam size in the vertical and horizontal directions, respectively, at 22 MeV with 200 pC charge.

• Received 15 August 2014

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevSTAB.18.014201

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Published by the American Physical Society