Experimental and numerical studies of sheet electron beam propagation through a planar wiggler magnet

Detailed experimental studies on sheet relativistic electron beam propagation through a long planar wiggler are reported and compared with numerical simulations. The planar wiggler has 56 periods with a period of 9.6 mm. Typically, the wiggler field peak amplitude is 5 kG. The experimental efforts are focused on controlling the deviation of the beam toward the side edge of the planar wiggler along the wide transverse direction. It is found that a suitably tapered magnetic field configuration at the wiggler entrance can considerably reduce the rate of deviation. The effects of the following techniques on beam transport efficiency are discussed: side focusing, beam transverse velocity tuning at the wiggler entrance, and beam spread limiting. High beam transport efficiency (almost 100%) of a 15-A beam is obtained in some cases.< >