Ultrafast electron diffraction with radio-frequency compressed electron pulses
Abstract
We report on the complete characterization of time resolution in an ultrafast electron diffraction (UED) instrument based on radio-frequency electron pulse compression. The temporal impulse response function of the instrument was determined directly in pump-probe geometry by performing electron-laser pulse cross-correlation measurements using the ponderomotive interaction. With optimal settings, a stable impulse response of 334±10 fs was measured at a bunch charge of 0.1 pC (6.24 × 105 electrons/pulse); a dramatic improvement compared to performance without pulse compression. Phase stability currently limits the impulse response of the UED diffractometer to the range of 334-500 fs, for bunch charges ranging between 0.1 and 0.6 pC.
- Publication:
-
Applied Physics Letters
- Pub Date:
- August 2012
- DOI:
- Bibcode:
- 2012ApPhL.101h1901C
- Keywords:
-
- diffractometers;
- electron diffraction;
- electron sources;
- high-speed optical techniques;
- measurement by laser beam;
- optical pulse compression;
- transient response;
- 07.77.Ka;
- 42.62.Eh;
- Charged-particle beam sources and detectors;
- Metrological applications;
- optical frequency synthesizers for precision spectroscopy