APPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS 98, 202901 共2011兲

Resonant excitation of coherent Cerenkov radiation in dielectric lined

waveguides
G. Andonian,1,a兲 O. Williams,1 X. Wei,1 P. Niknejadi,1 E. Hemsing,1 J. B. Rosenzweig,1
P. Muggli,2 M. Babzien,3 M. Fedurin,3 K. Kusche,3 R. Malone,3 and V. Yakimenko3
1
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles,
California 90095, USA
2
University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089, USA
3
Accelerator Test Facility, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973, USA
共Received 16 March 2011; accepted 27 April 2011; published online 18 May 2011兲
We report the observation of coherent Cerenkov radiation in the terahertz regime emitted by a
relativistic electron pulse train passing through a dielectric lined cylindrical waveguide. We describe
the beam manipulations and measurements involved in repetitive pulse train creation including
comb collimation and nonlinear optics corrections. With this technique, modes beyond the
fundamental are selectively excited by use of the appropriate frequency train. The spectral
characterization of the structure shows preferential excitation of the fundamental and of a higher
longitudinal mode. © 2011 American Institute of Physics. 关doi:10.1063/1.3592579兴

Dielectric lined cylindrical waveguides have long been temporal-transverse position correlation along the beam. Af-
studied for use in advanced acceleration applications, as ter the bend system, the transverse offsets are removed, leav-
they provide the potential high accelerating gradients for ing a train 共typically three to six beamlets兲 with variable
the dielectric wakefield accelerator 共DWA兲, in a relatively spacing and bunch lengths. Additionally, the high energy,
compact form in the difficult to access terahertz 共THz兲 spec- low emittance beams at the BNL ATF allow for operations
tral region.1,2 Initial experiments using dielectric loaded with highly focusable, intense beams, resulting in high
waveguides, at longer wavelengths, measured the wake po- power, high frequency beam spectral components from small
tentials of a driving bunch for different materials,3 while transverse size DWA structures.
more recent THz excitation experiments using single, ex- Pulse trains are important in wakefield schemes due to
tremely short, very high charge electron pulses demonstrated the need to introduce multibunch beam loading for high av-
⬎GV/ m fields before structure breakdown.4 Follow-on ex- erage energy efficiency. It is also critical in coherent Ceren-
periments have demonstrated their applicability as sources of kov radiation 共CCR兲 production, as it can allow selectivity in
narrow-band, coherent THz radiation.5 The characteristics of resonant mode excitation by pulse train tuning. In extending
the emitted radiation depend on the dielectric tube geometry, operation to pulse trains, one must also examine potential
dielectric material choice, inner/outer dielectric tube bound- limitations due to beam break-up 共BBU兲 instabilities medi-
ary, as well as driving electron beam properties such as ated by dipole modes.
charge, and bunch length or time structure. In preliminary Critical aspects of this array of physical effects are stud-
experiments, Cook et al.5 demonstrated single-mode excita- ied in the experiments reported here through examination of
tion of the fundamental mode 共⬃0.3 THz兲 limited by the CCR, including selection of the longitudinal oscillating
moderate single bunch length 共⬃1 ps兲 and choice of wave- mode 共TM0n兲. The beam properties have direct effect on the
guide parameters 共restricted by the beam width at the lower parameters of the emitted radiation, in particular in enabling
energy of 11 MeV兲. resonant excitation at different frequencies. Here the number
Further applications of coherent radiation sources are of beamlets and the consistency of beamlet bunch spacing
accessible using the higher energies and pulse train produc- are of high importance. As such, in addition to CCR mea-
tion scheme employed at the Brookhaven National Labora- surements, an independent investigation of the pulse train
tory Accelerator Test Facility 共BNL ATF兲.6 This pulse train properties was carried out, with coherent transition radiation
scheme employs a rigid mask inserted at a high-dispersion 共CTR兲 used as a diagnostic, and a linear and nonlinear beam
point along the beamline, that introduces a periodic transport used to tune the pulse train.

Interferometer
Bolometer FIG. 1. 共Color online兲 Experimental layout at the BNL
ATF. The beam 共dotted line兲 is generated with appropri-
ate chirp in the photoinjector and linac 共not sketched兲
CTR CCR Collimating
Spectrometer and transported through a dispersive line where the
Optics
Dipole pulse train is generated by the mask. Two interferom-
Mask eter setups measure the generated CTR and CCR 共green
Insertable DWA solid line兲. The beam energy is measured with a dipole
Mirror
e-beam CTR Foil Structure CCD spectrometer at the beam dump.
with
with Horn
hole

a兲
Electronic mail: gerard@physics.ucla.edu.

0003-6951/2011/98共20兲/202901/3/$30.00 98, 202901-1 © 2011 American Institute of Physics

Author complimentary copy. Redistribution subject to AIP license or copyright, see http://apl.aip.org/apl/copyright.jsp
202901-2 Andonian et al. Appl. Phys. Lett. 98, 202901 共2011兲

98.4 3.5 3.0

98.2 3.0 2.5

Signal [a.u.]
98.0 2.5 2.0
p (mec)

2.0 1.5
97.8
1.5 1.0
97.6 0.5
1.0
97.4
0.0205 0.0210 0.0215 0 200 400 600 800
97.2
Step[m] Wavelength [μm]
1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0
t (ps) t (ps)
FIG. 3. 共Color online兲 CCR autocorrelation curve for the fundamental mode
FIG. 2. 共Color online兲 Longitudinal phase space of a simulated 4-pulse train 共left兲 and Fourier transform of the interferogram 共right兲. The peak in the
multibunch beam after transport through the dispersive line without correc- spectrum is observed at 495 ␮m.
tion for nonlinear dispersion effects. The beamlet spacing is not consistent
from pulse to pulse 共left兲. The beamlet spacing is consistent from pulse to
pulse when sextupole correctors are engaged in the dispersive line 共right兲. DWA tube has an inner radius, a = 100 ␮m and an outer
radius, b = 170 ␮m. Calculations show that the induced peak
The experiment was carried out at the BNL ATF 共Fig. 1兲. accelerating field for this structure is 55 MV/m. The beam
For these measurements, the nominal electron beam energy traversing the dielectric structure emits CCR, which is ex-
was 60 MeV, the charge 300 pC with a normalized emittance tracted by an in-vacuum flat copper mirror with a 5 mm hole.
of 1 mm-mrad. The pulse train is generated by the insertion The hole allows the electron beam to continue to the beam
of a periodic mask at a high dispersion point along the trans- dump, which incorporates a dipole magnet spectrometer for
port, and its periodicity is adjustable from 150– 600 ␮m by energy measurements. The CCR is launched from the DWA
varying the phase of the rf accelerating wave with respect to structure through a cylindrical horn and extracted out of the
the bunch timing. For example, running a pulse train of three vacuum chamber through a TPX window. The radiation is
beamlets with period Lb = 495 ␮m requires operating at a collimated using short focal length off-axis paraboloid mir-
phase 3° forward of crest. The photoinjector/linac phase is rors to minimize exposure to humid air, which has strong
stable up to 0.5° due to the feedback loop, providing the absorption bands in the THz frequency range. The collimated
needed reproducibility in pulse train performance as required CCR is transported to a second Michelson-interferometer
by the interferometric measurements of the bunch train and 共also with a Si-bolometer detector兲 where autocorrelation
of the radiation. measurements yield the spectrum of the radiation pulse.
Forward of crest running conditions generate a beam Initially, to excite the fundamental longitudinal mode
with positive chirp 共beam head with higher energy than the 共TM01兲 of the DWA structure a 3-pulse train 共rms pulse
tail兲; conversely, backward of crest operation yields a nega- length ␴z ⯝ 55 ␮m, and charge per pulse ⬃30 pC兲 was
tive chirp. This distinction is important not only for generat- tuned to a beamlet spacing of Lb ⯝ 495 ␮m. The electron
ing the appropriate bunch spacing for the pulse train but also bunch train was then transported through the DWA, where
eventually for direct observation of energy gain and loss with the CCR was generated and characterized. With this train
the dipole spectrometer at the end of the beam line. Unam- spacing the Fourier spectrum of the radiation autocorrelation
biguous energy gain observation requires that the beam must trace showed a definitive peak at a wavelength of ⬃495 ␮m,
have a negative chirp for the spectrometer to resolve wake- indicating resonant excitation at the fundamental TM01 mode
field acceleration of a trailing beamlet. Due to the low charge 共Fig. 3兲.
of the trailing beamlet and the relatively short DWA structure The second resonant longitudinal mode 共TM02兲 of the
length, energy gain was at the limit of the spectrometer res- structure occurs at a wavelength of 195 ␮m. For this case, a
olution. 4-pulse train 共␴z ⯝ 25 ␮m兲 was tuned using the CTR/
The bunch spacing is measured using an insertable sextupole method to a bunch spacing of Lb = 195 ␮m 共Fig. 4,
foil that generates CTR. The radiation is transported to a top right兲, and the beam transported to the DWA tube. The
Michelson-type interferometer with a LHe-cooled Si- emitted CCR was again autocorrelated 共Fig. 4, bottom left兲
bolometer detector. The resultant autocorrelation trace is and the spectral analysis indeed displayed a peak near a
Fourier transformed to yield spectral content, thus character- wavelength of ⬃200 ␮m 共Fig. 4, bottom right兲. In order to
izing the pulse train properties.7 The peak position of the have the second mode dominate over the fundamental, the
Fourier transformed signal indicates the bunch spacing while beam tuning had to be performed carefully, because the cou-
its width indicates the consistency of the periodicity. It was pling to the fundamental mode is stronger. In addition, the
observed that the width of the signal is diminished by tuning group velocity of the second mode is greater due to the
two sextupole correctors placed at high dispersion points shorter wavelength in the DWA guide, and thus a relatively
along the dispersive line. The sextupole correctors serve to lesser total signal is expected; the total energy in the nth
mitigate the second order dispersion terms 共T566兲,8 and con- harmonic is related to its power, Pn, and time of propagation,
sequently yield a more uniform periodicity. For the uncor- ␶ p,n = L共1 − vg,n / c兲 / 共vg,n兲, in the structure as Un = Pn␶ p,n,
rected case at the BNL ATF, ELEGANT9 simulations show where L is the structure length and vg,n is the group velocity
that T566 = 6.73 m whereas when sextupoles are appropri- of the nth harmonic.
ately engaged, T566 is reduced to near zero and the beam As can be seen in Fig. 4, the beam tuning to give Lb
bunch spacing is consistent 共Fig. 2兲 in agreement with ex- = 195 ␮m suppressed the signal of the TM01 mode to just
perimental observations. above the noise floor, and allowed the second mode to domi-
After tuning, the beam is transported to and focused nate 共Fig. 4, bottom right兲. However, the spectrum also
through a 1cm long DWA structure-a hollow dielectric showed a secondary peak near ␭ ⯝ 300 ␮m, which may be
共SiO2兲 cylinder coated with a thin layer of aluminum. The attributed to spectral artifacts due to the rapid growth of the
Author complimentary copy. Redistribution subject to AIP license or copyright, see http://apl.aip.org/apl/copyright.jsp
202901-3 Andonian et al. Appl. Phys. Lett. 98, 202901 共2011兲

1.2 electric lined waveguide, with the preferred mode excitation

3.0 1.0 due to the periodicity of the relativistic bunch train. The
Signal [a.u.]

0.8 precise bunch train period adjustability was accomplished by

2.5 0.6 the careful manipulation of nonlinearities via sextupole cor-
2.0 0.4 rectors during the dispersive transport. Both electron beam
0.2 and radiation properties were modeled with start-to-end
0.0045 0.0050 0.0055 0 200 400 600 800 simulation codes and experimentally benchmarked. The se-
Step[m] Bunch Spacing [μm] lective tuning of bunch spacing allowed one to tune the CCR
1.2 output from fundamental, at a wavelength of 495 ␮m, to the
3.5
1.0 second resonant mode, at 195 ␮m, thus giving another
Signal [a.u.]

0.8 method–beyond DWA tube substitution–for CCR tuning, and

3.0
0.6 thus introducing needed experimental flexibility for applica-
2.5
0.4 tions of CCR.
2.0 0.2 As such issues are critical for DWA applications, studies
0.020 0.021 0.022 0 200 400 600 800 are planned in future experiments having longer interaction
Step[m] Wavelength [μm] lengths. We are initiating similar studies in the context of
slab-symmetric DWA experiments, where the geometry
FIG. 4. 共Color online兲 CTR autocorrelation 共top left兲 and Fourier transform
共top right兲 demonstrating bunch spacing of ⯝200 ␮m. CCR interferogram
yields smaller transverse wakes and thus diminished BBU.
共bottom left兲 for second resonant mode and Fourier transform 共bottom Additionally, future studies on dipole modes 共HEM1n兲 will
right兲. The peak in the CCR spectra is observed at ⯝195 ␮m. Excitation of be executed by manipulation of the beam transverse 共posi-
the fundamental mode is heavily suppressed. tion, angle offsets兲 properties. Other experiments following
in this series 共Refs. 4 and 5兲 will employ a single, very short
Cerenkov radiation during the passage of the four-beamlet beam pulse to excite a large number of resonant modes,
bunch structure, or to the presence of a transverse dipole which can then be selectively filtered to give a wider choice
mode. Indeed, the structure geometry is expected to yield of high power, narrow-band THz frequencies. Further, we
strong coupling to the second dipole mode 共HEM12兲 which plan to obtain smaller radius beams by using permanent
has a frequency of ⬃0.9 THz, close to the observed second- magnet quadrupole focusing. This permits smaller aperture
ary peak. Dipole mode characterization is important in the tubes with higher DWA fields; these tubes will also include
context of BBU instabilities afflicting pulse train applications those fabricated from materials such as chemical-vapor
and will be pursued in follow up experiments. deposition diamond. Higher fields and operation on correct
These measurements demonstrate the ability of preferen- side of rf crest will permit unambiguous measurement of the
tial wavelength selection using resonant excitation of a pulse train energy loss, and with a modified beam mask that
bunch train with as few as three to four beamlets. Simula- appropriately rephases a trailing beamlet in the wakefield,
tions using OOPIC 共object-oriented particle-in-cell 2D simu- acceleration.
lation code兲 共Fig. 5兲 confirm the experimental results and Work supported by U.S. Department of Energy under
also demonstrate the suppression of the fundamental at ap- Grant Nos. DE-FG02-04ER41294, DE-AC02-98CH10886,
propriate bunch spacing. DE-FG03-92ER40695, and DE-FG02-92ER40745.
In conclusion, we have shown the ability to select reso-
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