Femtosecond Compression Dynamics and Timing Jitter Suppression in a THz-driven Electron Bunch Compressor

Area of Science:

• Accelerator Physics
• Ultrafast Science
• Terahertz Science

Background:

• Relativistic electron beams are crucial for advanced scientific applications.
• Achieving precise control over electron beam properties, such as bunch length and timing jitter, is essential for high-resolution measurements.
• Existing methods for electron beam manipulation face limitations in achieving femtosecond-level precision.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate the first Terahertz (THz) driven bunch compression of a relativistic electron beam.
• To achieve timing stabilization of the electron beam using THz radiation.
• To assess the performance improvement for applications requiring femtosecond electron beams.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing quasi-single-cycle strong field THz radiation.
• Employing a shorted parallel-plate structure for beam manipulation.
• Compressing a few-fC electron beam with 2.5 MeV kinetic energy.

Main Results:

• Achieved a factor of 2.7 bunch compression.
• Produced a 39 fs root-mean-square (rms) bunch length.
• Reduced timing jitter by more than a factor of 2, achieving 31 fs rms.

Conclusions:

• The THz-driven technique offers a significant advancement in electron beam performance.
• This method provides a critical step towards unprecedented timing resolution in ultrafast sciences.
• The technique is applicable to ultrafast electron diffraction and other applications utilizing femtosecond electron beams.