Fast wire scanner for intense electron beams

Abstract

We have developed a cost-effective, fast rotating wire scanner for use in accelerators where high beam currents would otherwise melt even carbon wires. This new design uses a simple planetary gear setup to rotate a carbon wire, fixed at one end, through the beam at speeds in excess of 20 m/s. We present results from bench tests, as well as transverse beam profile measurements taken at Cornell’s high-brightness energy recovery linac photoinjector, for beam currents up to 35 mA.