Electron channeling radiation experiments at very high electron bunch charges

Plasmas offer the possibility of high acceleration gradients. An intriguing suggestion is to use the higher plasma densities possible in solids to get extremely high gradients. Although solid-state plasmas might produce high gradients they would pose daunting problems. Crystal channeling has been suggested as one mechanism to address these challenges. There is no experimental or theoretical guidance on channeling for intense electron beams. A high-density plasma in a crystal lattice could quench the channeling process. An experiment has been carried out at the Fermilab NICADD Photoinjector Laboratory to observe electron channeling radiation at high bunch charges. An electron beam with up to 8 nC per electron bunch was used to investigate the electron-crystal interaction. No evidence was found of quenching of channeling at charge densities two orders of magnitude larger than that in earlier experiments.