Thermal Acoustic Sensor for High Pulse Energy X-ray FEL Beams

The pulse energy density of X-ray FELs will saturate or destroy conventional X-ray diagnostics, and the use of large beam attenuation will result in a beam that is dominated by harmonics. We present preliminary results at the LCLS from a pulse energy detector based on the thermal acoustic effect. In this type of detector an X-ray resistant material (boron carbide in this system) intercepts the beam. The pulse heating of the target material produces an acoustic pulse that can be detected with high frequency microphones to produce a signal that is linear in the absorbed energy. The thermal acoustic detector is designed to provide first- and second-order calorimetric measurement of X-ray FEL pulse energy. The first-order calorimetry is a direct temperature measurement of a target designed to absorb all or most of the FEL pulse power with minimal heat leak. The second-order measurement detects the vibration caused by the rapid thermoelastic expansion of the target material each time it absorbs a photon pulse. Both the temperature change and the amplitude of the acoustic signal are directly related to the photon pulse energy.