Electron Beam Diagnostics using Coherent Cherenkov Radiation in Aerogel

The use of coherent Cherenkov radiation as a diagnostic tool for longitudinal distribution of an electron beam is studied in this paper. Coherent Cherenkov radiation is produced in an aerogel with an index of refraction close to unity. An aerogel spectral properties are experimentally studied and analyzed. This method will be employed for the helical IFEL bunching experiment at Neptune linear accelerator facility at UCLA.