High-quality, high-repetition rate, ultrashort electron bunches generated with an RF-cavity

In collaboration with FEI Company, we are studying the possi- bility of using microwave TM110 streak cavities in combination with a slit, to chop a continuous electron beam into 100 fs elec- tron bunches.We have shown that this can be done with minimal increase in transverse emittance and longitudinal energy spread. Furthermore, these bunches are created at a repetition rate of 3 GHz. Accurately synchronized to a mode-locked laser system, this allows for high-frequency pump-probe experiments with the beam quality of high-end electron microscopes. At Eindhoven University of Technology, we will soon implement such a cavity in a 200 keV Tecnai, which should result in high- frequency ultrafast (S)TEM with sub-ps time-resolution while maintaining the atomic spatial resolution of the TEM