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General Information
Electron/Laser Facility
The ATF provides a very high brightness electron beam to four beam lines, synchronized with high-power lasers. The electrons are produced by a photoinjector, whose photocathode is illuminated by a frequency quadrupled solid-state laser. Two S-band linear accelerator sections accelerate the electrons. The beam can be manipulated in the transport line to deliver it to one of several targets in the experimental hall. There are more than 40 quadrupoles along four transport lines to tailor the beam to particular experiments. More than 50 high-resolution profile monitors measure the beam’s particle distribution.
CO2 Laser
ATF's carbon dioxide laser is the only tera-watt picosecond laser available in the world for users. When the laser interacts with matter or particle beams, new strong-field physics phenomena are revealed. These have been successfully exploited for electron and ion acceleration and x-ray generation. Such experiments have many applications in physics and other areas such as medicine and materials science. Details
Experimental Work
Plasma Wakefield Acceleration is a method for accelerating particle beams over much shorter distances than traditional accelerators. An electron bunch travelling through a plasma creates wakefields through which subsequent electron bunches may be accelerated at a high gradient. This technique produces more compact, more energy-efficient high-energy particle beams.
Medical Imaging. Interaction of the ATF electron beam with the CO2 laser is a viable source of fast x-rays with wavelengths on the scale of pico- or femtoseconds. These x-rays have uses in ultrafast imaging, positron production, and many other applications.
Ion Generation. MeV proton beams generated by CO2 laser pulses focused on a hydrogen gas jet have potential uses in positron emission tomography and hadron cancer therapy. A time-resolved optical diagnostic provides new insight into the physics of laser-plasma interactions at supercritical densities.
Research Opportunities
There are numerous research opportunities for post-doctoral fellows at the ATF. These include work on laser-photocathode RF guns, various laser accelerator and FEL experiments, high power laser development (e.g. our unique compact CO2 terawatt laser) and more. If you have a postdoctoral fellowship and you are looking for an exciting place to work, contact the ATF for more details. The ATF also occasionally provides research assistantships for qualified Ph.D. students. For details, contact Mikhail Fedurin.
The Accelerator Test Facility is a member of the National User Facility Organization (NUFO) which represents the interests of all users who conduct research at U.S. national scientific user facilities, as well as scientists from U.S. universities, laboratories, and industry who use similar facilities outside the United States.
