An injector testbed based on a direct current gun and an interchangeable very high frequency gun for superconducting...

The continuous-wave free-electron laser (CW-FEL), based on superconducting radiofrequency (SRF) technology with an electron bunch repetition rate of up to MHz levels, is one of the most advanced light sources, providing exceptionally high average and peak-brightness FEL pulses. Among the new CW-FEL facilities worldwide, the recently proposed Dalian Advanced Light Source (DALS) occupies a unique position as an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) facility primarily designed for chemical physics research. Since the beam emittance requirement for DALS is not as stringent as that for X-ray CW-FEL facilities, a direct current (DC) gun is considered as the primary electron source, with a very high frequency (VHF) gun also planned. To demonstrate key technologies and characterize the electron beam performance, a superconducting CW injector testbed, named the Electron Source Test Facility (ESTF), has been designed and is currently under construction. The testbed is uniquely designed to accommodate both guns with minimal switching effort, where the rest of the beamline layout remains unchanged except for the swapped guns. The two-gun switching scheme for the testbed is shown to be a feasible and cost-effective approach. Furthermore, the injector performance with both guns has been evaluated through a start-to-end simulation based on the DALS configuration, including the production of electron beam in the ESTF injector, the following beam acceleration and compression in a superconducting linear accelerator, and finally the beam lasing performance in the undulator section. The evaluation confirms that the DC gun is a promising electron source for CW-FEL facilities, especially for EUV applications, even though all currently constructed CW facilities have employed the VHF gun. This paper provides a comprehensive description of the injector design and the corresponding performance evaluation.