Multienergy operation analysis in a superconducting linac based on off-frequency detune method

Abstract

The free-electron laser facilities driven by a superconducting radio-frequency (SRF) linac provide high-repetition-rate electron beam, which makes it feasible to feed multiple undulator lines at the same time. In this paper, we study a method of controlling the energy of multiple electron bunches by off-frequency detuning in the SRF linac. Based on the theoretical analysis, we present the available discrete frequency detunes and the optimal linac energy allocation solutions with given energy overhead and periodic energy pattern. The required off-frequency detune is not larger than half of the beam repetition rate, which can be realized with the frequency tuner in SRF cavities. We adopt the configuration of the high energy upgrade of the Linac Coherent Light Source II (LCLS-II-HE) as an example to discuss the possible schemes in practice to support two undulator lines simultaneously. We also discuss the energy jitter increase due to the off-crest acceleration, the tunable energy range with fixed total SRF linac energy capacity, the beam energy chirp and lattice design for multienergy beam transport.