DEVELOPMENT OF A HIGH-BRIGHTNESS VHF ELECTRON SOURCE AT LBNL*

Currently proposed ERL and high average power FEL projects require electron beam sources that can generate ~1nC bunch charges at high repetition rates. Many proposed sources are based around either high voltage DC or microwave RF guns, each with its particular set of technological limits and system complications. We propose a novel solution that greatly diminishes high voltage breakdown issues while also decreasing peak RF power requirements in a warm copper device, and that has the benefit of mapping the rf oscillation period much more closely to the required beam repetition rate. We present the initial RF and mechanical design for a 750kV electron source and beam injection system utilizing a gun resonant in the VHF band. Beam dynamics simulations demonstrate excellent beam quality preservation and transport