Characterization of electron bunches from a diamond current amplifier

Free Electron Lasers (FELs) make significant demands on the photocathode / drive laser used to generate electron bunches, but no photocathode source simultaneously satisfies needed demands of lifetime, quantum efficiency, and response. High gain mm-wave (and beyond) amplifiers make analogous demands. A diamond current amplifier may enable progress by exploiting the high yield associated with secondary emission. Questions loom, however, about the relationship of pulse shape, repetition frequency, and needed bunch characteristics with what can be produced by a diamond thin film.