BNL, Upton, New York, USA
The electron beam for the Low Energy RHIC electron Cooler (LEReC) at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) is generated by a high-power fiber laser illuminating a photocathode. The pointing stability of the electron beam, which is crucial given its long transport, is highly dependent on the center-of-mass (CoM) stability of the laser spot on the photocathode. For reasons of accessibility during operations, the laser is located outside the accelerator tunnel, and the laser beam is propagated over a total distance of 34 m via three laser tables to the photocathode. The challenges to achieving the required CoM stability of 10 microns RMS on the photocathode include mitigation of the effects of vibrations along the transport and of weather- and season-related environmental effects, while preserving accessibility and diagnostic capabilities. Due to the insufficiency of infrastructure alone in overcoming these challenges, two active laser transport stabilization systems aimed at addressing specific types of position instability were installed during the 2018 Shutdown. After successful commissioning of the full transport in 2018/19, we report on our solutions to these design challenges.
