arXiv subjects

J. G. H. Franssen

Publications and source records attributed to J. G. H. Franssen.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

High-throughput, high-brightness, ultrashort 90 keV electrons at 40 kHz

Radiofrequency-compressed keV electron sources for ultrafast electron diffraction (UED) face competing demands: short pulses require low charge, yet weak scatterers demand high flux; high repetition rates enable signal averaging, yet most systems operate $\lesssim$1 kHz with low detection efficiency. Here, we demonstrate a 90 keV DC-RF source operating at 40 kHz with direct electron detection that address these challenges simultaneously. THz streaking retrieves compressed pulse durations of 97 $\pm$ 3 fs (FWHM) at 370 aC and 114 $\pm$ 47 fs (FWHM) at 2.8 fC. Long-term $t_0$ timing drifts, characterized independently both by convolution analysis of compression data and direct THz streaking measurements, lie between 65 - 95 fs (FWHM), among the lowest reported for RF-based systems. At low charge (17 aC), we report an intrinsic pulse duration of 56 fs (FWHM) from comparison of simulations to measured compression data, among the shortest for keV UED at $>$16 aC. Moreover, 2.8 fC bunches, combined with 40 kHz repetition rate and direct detection, produce a detectable normalized throughput that is one (three-to-four) orders of magnitude higher than existing keV (MeV) sources. This enables practical UED studies of weakly scattering samples and processes previously impractical due to low cross-sections and long acquisition times.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2023

RF acceleration of ultracold electron bunches

The ultrafast and ultracold electron source, based on laser cooling and trapping of an atomic gas and its subsequent near-threshold photoionization, is capable of generating electron bunches with a high transverse brightness at energies of roughly 10 keV. This paper investigates the possibility of increasing the range of applications of this source by accelerating the bunch using radio-frequency electromagnetic fields. Bunch energies of $\sim35$ keV are measured by analyzing the diffraction patterns generated from a mono-crystalline gold sample. Further analysis points to a largely preserved normalized transverse emittance during acceleration.

physics.acc-ph↗

arXiv2019

From ultracold electrons to coherent soft X-rays

Electromagnetic radiation in the soft x-ray spectral range ($1-100~\rm{nm}$ wavelengths or $0.01-1~\rm{keV}$ photon energies) is rapidly gaining importance in both fundamental research and industrial applications. At present the degree of coherence and the average photon flux required by advanced applications is only available at large-scale synchrotron facilities and Free Electron Lasers (FELs), severely limiting the range of applications. We propose a fully coherent soft x-ray source, based on Inverse Compton Scattering (ICS) of electron bunches created by photoionization of a laser-cooled and trapped atomic gas. By combining spatial modulation of the photoionization process with radiofrequency bunch compression techniques, micro-bunching at soft x-ray wavelengths and thus coherent amplification can be realised, resulting in a soft x-ray table-top Compton light source.

physics.acc-ph↗

arXiv2019

Compact ultracold electron source based on a grating magneto optical trap

The ultrafast and ultracold electron source, based on near-threshold photoionisation of a laser-cooled and trapped atomic gas, offers a unique combination of low transverse beam emittance and high bunch charge. Its use is however still limited because of the required cold-atom laser-cooling techniques. Here we present a compact ultracold electron source based on a grating magneto-optical trap (GMOT), which only requires one trapping laser beam that passes through a transparent accelerator module. This makes the technique more widely accessible and increases its applicability. We show the GMOT can be operated with a hole in the center of the grating and with large electric fields applied across the trapping region, which is required for extracting electron bunches. The calculated values of the applied electric field were found to agree well with measured Stark shifts of the laser cooling transition. The electron beams extracted from the GMOT have been characterised. Beam energies up to 10 keV were measured using a time-of-flight method. The normalised root-mean-squared transverse beam emittance was determined using a waist scan method, resulting in $ε= 1.9 \rm{nm}$. The root-mean-squared transverse size of the ionisation volume is $30 μ\rm{m}$ or larger, implying an electron source temperature in the few-10K range, $2-3$ orders of magnitude lower than conventional electron sources, based on photoemission or thermionic emission from solid state surfaces.

physics.acc-ph↗

arXiv2017

Energy spread of ultracold electron bunches extracted from a laser cooled gas

Ultrashort and ultracold electron bunches created by near-threshold femtosecond photoionization of a laser-cooled gas hold great promise for single-shot ultrafast diffraction experiments. In previous publications the transverse beam quality and the bunch length have been determined. Here the longitudinal energy spread of the generated bunches is measured for the first time, using a specially developed Wien filter. The Wien filter has been calibrated by determining the average deflection of the electron bunch as a function of magnetic field. The measured relative energy spread $\frac{σ_{U}}{U} = 0.64 \pm 0.09\%$ agrees well with the theoretical model which states that it is governed by the width of the ionization laser and the acceleration length.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2017

Theory and particle tracking simulations of a resonant radiofrequency deflection cavity in TM$_{110}$ mode for ultrafast electron microscopy

We present a theoretical description of resonant radiofrequency (RF) deflecting cavities in TM$_{110}$ mode as dynamic optical elements for ultrafast electron microscopy. We first derive the optical transfer matrix of an ideal pillbox cavity and use a Courant-Snyder formalism to calculate the 6D phase space propagation of a Gaussian electron distribution through the cavity. We derive closed, analytic expressions for the increase in transverse emittance and energy spread of the electron distribution. We demonstrate that for the special case of a beam focused in the center of the cavity, the low emittance and low energy spread of a high quality beam can be maintained, which allows high-repetition rate, ultrafast electron microscopy with 100 fs temporal resolution combined with the atomic resolution of a high-end TEM. This is confirmed by charged particle tracking simulations using a realistic cavity geometry, including fringe fields at the cavity entrance and exit apertures.

physics.acc-ph↗

arXiv2017

Improving temporal resolution of ultrafast electron diffraction by eliminating arrival time jitter induced by radiofrequency bunch compression cavities

The temporal resolution of sub-relativistic ultrafast electron diffraction (UED) is generally limited by radio frequency (RF) phase and amplitude jitter of the RF lenses that are used to compress the electron pulses. We theoretically show how to circumvent this limitation by using a combination of several RF compression cavities. We show that if powered by the same RF source and with a proper choice of RF field strengths, RF phases and distances between the cavities, the combined arrival time jitter due to RF phase jitter of the cavities is cancelled at the compression point. We also show that the effect of RF amplitude jitter on the temporal resolution is negligible when passing through the cavity at a RF phase optimal for (de)compression. This will allow improvement of the temporal resolution in UED experiments to well below 100 fs.

physics.acc-ph↗

arXiv2017

Pulse length of ultracold electron bunches extracted from a laser cooled gas

We present measurements of the pulse length of ultracold electron bunches generated by near-threshold two-photon photoionization of a laser-cooled gas. The pulse length has been measured using a resonant $3$ GHz deflecting cavity in TM$_{110}$ mode. We have measured the pulse length in three ionization regimes. The first is direct two-photon photoionization using only a $480$ nm femtosecond laser pulse, which results in short ($\sim 15$ ps) but hot ($\sim 10^{4}$ K) electron bunches. The second regime is just-above-threshold femtosecond photoionization employing the combination of a continuous-wave $780$ nm excitation laser and a tunable $480$ nm femtosecond ionization laser which results in both ultracold ($\sim 10$ K) and ultrafast ($\sim 25$ ps) electron bunches. These pulses typically contain $\sim 10^{3}$ electrons and have an rms normalized transverse beam emittance of $1.5\pm0.1$ nm$\cdot$rad. The measured pulse lengths are limited by the energy spread associated with the longitudinal size of the ionization volume, as expected. The third regime is just-below-threshold ionization which produces Rydberg states which slowly ionize on microsecond time scales.

physics.atom-ph↗