Stimulated coherent transition radiation

Coherent radiation emitted from a relativistic electron bunch consists of wavelengths longer than or comparable to the bunch length. The intensity of this radiation out-numbers that of its incoherent counterpart, which extends to wavelengths shorter than the bunch length, by a factor equal to the number of electrons in the bunch. In typical accelerators, this factor is about 8 to 11 orders of magnitude. The spectrum of the coherent radiation is determined by the Fourier transform of the electron bunch distribution and, therefore, contains information of the bunch distribution. Coherent transition radiation emitted from subpicosecond electron bunches at the Stanford SUNSHINE facility is observed in the far-infrared regime through a room-temperature pyroelectric bolometer and characterized through the electron bunch-length study. To measure the bunch length, a new frequency-resolved subpicosecond bunch-length measuring system is developed. This system uses a far-infrared Michelson interferometer to measure the spectrum of coherent transition radiation through optical autocorrelation with resolution far better than existing time-resolved methods. Hence, the radiation spectrum and the bunch length are deduced from the autocorrelation measurement. To study the stimulation of coherent transition radiation, a special cavity named BRAICER is invented. Far-infrared light pulses of coherent transition radiation emitted from electron bunches are delayed and circulated in the cavity to coincide with subsequent incoming electron bunches. This coincidence of light pulses with electron bunches enables the light to do work on electrons, and thus stimulates more radiated energy. The possibilities of extending the bunch-length measuring system to measure the three-dimensional bunch distribution and making the BRAICER cavity a broadband, high-intensity, coherent, far-infrared light source are also discussed.