First measurements of subpicosecond electron beam structure by autocorrelation of coherent diffraction radiation

We report the initial measurements of subpicosecond electron beam structure using a nonintercepting technique based on the autocorrelation of coherent diffraction radiation (CDR). A far infrared (FIR) Michelson interferometer with a Golay detector was used to obtain the autocorrelation. The radiation was generated by a thermionic rf gun beam at 40 MeV as it passed through a 5-mm-tall slit/aperture in a metal screen whose surface was at 45° to the beam direction. For the observed bunch lengths of about 450 fs (FWHM) with a shorter time spike on the leading edge, peak currents of about 100 A are indicated. Also a model was developed and used to calculate the CDR from the back of two metal strips separated by a 5-mm vertical gap. The demonstrated nonintercepting aspect of this method could allow on-line bunch length characterizations to be done during free-electron laser experiments.