Power measurement of frequency-locked Smith-Purcell radiation

Frequency-locked Smith-Purcell radiation (FL-SPR), generated by a train of electron bunches traveling above a grating, is characterized by a broad range of frequencies which are locked to the train frequency in a discrete comb and are spatially dispersed in space. We report absolute-scale power measurement of FL-SPR in the millimeter wave range. A 50 ns long train of 170 μm electron bunches was produced by a 15 MeV, 17 GHz accelerator with 80 mA of average current. The grating had 20 periods spaced by 2.54 mm. The experimental results were compared, on an absolute scale, with the electric-field integral equation model which takes into consideration the finite length of the grating. Very good agreement was obtained. The present results should be useful in planning SPR applications such as diagnostics of electron bunch length on the femtosecond scale and coherent THz radiation sources