First measurements of the longitudinal bunch profile of a 28.5 GeV beam using coherent Smith-Purcell radiation

Coherent Smith-Purcell (SP) radiation originating from three different gratings has been measured at End Station A, SLAC, and has been used to reconstruct the time profile of the electron bunches. The beam energy during these experiments was 28.5 GeV (γ≅55 773) and the number of electrons in the bunch was 0.9–1.4×10¹⁰. The spectral distribution of the radiated energy was measured by means of an array of 11 pyroelectric detectors. Typical values of the FWHM of the bunch length are about 2.5 ps, but sharper peaks with FWHM less than 2.0 ps have also been observed. The longitudinal profile also varies with accelerator conditions and can best be approximated by a superposition of 3–4 Gaussian curves. Some typical profiles are presented, together with a discussion of the limitations and strengths of coherent SP radiation as a diagnostic tool. It is concluded that SP radiation offers excellent prospects in this respect, not only in the picosecond range, but potentially in the femtosecond range as well.