Design and validation of an accelerator for an ultracold electron source

Abstract

We describe here a specially designed accelerator structure and a pulsed power supply that are essential parts of a high brightness cold atoms-based electron source. The accelerator structure allows a magneto-optical atom trap to be operated inside of it, and also transmits subnanosecond electric field pulses. The power supply produces high voltage pulses up to 30 kV, with a rise time of up to 30 ns. The resulting electric field inside the structure is characterized with an electro-optic measurement and with an ion time-of-flight experiment. Simulations predict that 100 fC electron bunches, generated from trapped atoms inside the structure, reach an emittance of 0.04 mmmrad and a bunch length of 80 ps. © 2008 The American Physical Society.