High gradient silicon carbide immersion lens ultrafast electron sources

• Main Authors: Broaddus, P. (Author), Byer, R.L (Author), Leedle, K.J (Author), Miao, Y. (Author), Niedermayer, U. (Author), Skär, E. (Author), Solgaard, O. (Author), Urbanek, K. (Author)
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: American Institute of Physics Inc. 2022
• Subjects: Centimeter-scale; Electron injectors; Electron sources; Electrons; High brightness; High gradient; Immersion lens; Laser accelerators; Luminance; Silicon carbide; Silicon nanotips; Space charge effects; Ultra-fast; Ultrafast electron diffraction
• Online Access: View Fulltext in Publisher

 We present two compact ultrafast electron injector designs with integrated focusing that provide high peak brightness of up to 1.9 × 1012 A/m2 Sr2 with 10's of electrons per laser pulse using silicon carbide electrodes and silicon nanotip emitters. We demonstrate a few centimeter scale 96 keV immersion lens electron source and a 57 keV immersion lens electron source with a 19 kV/mm average acceleration gradient, nearly double the typical 10 kV/mm used in DC electron sources. The brightness of the electron sources is measured alongside start-to-end simulations including space charge effects. These sources are suitable for dielectric laser accelerator experiments, ultrafast electron diffraction, and other applications, where a compact high brightness electron source is required. © 2022 Author(s).