Results of commissioning the injector and construction progress of the Boeing 1-kW visible free-electron laser

This paper reports progress on the commissioning of the photocathode injector and the construction of the one kilowatt visible free electron laser (FEL) at Boeing. This FEL is being built using the equipment and experience acquired during previous Boeing FEL experiments. The injector consists of a 2 MV rf photocathode gun followed by four accelerator sections, all operating at 433 MHz. An additional 1300 MHz section is used to linearize the longitudinal phase space before compressing the electron pulse in a three-dipole chicane. The commissioning of this 18 MeV injector system is finished, and the injector performance results are described. Currently in progress is the construction of the remaining FEL system which includes the installation of six additional 1300 MHz accelerator sections and rf power to boost the beam energy to 100 MeV, installation of the electron beam transport to the wiggler, the instrumentation of the five meter wiggler and the implementation of the concentric resonator cavity. The status of the one kilowatt FEL will be reviewed. Also, the experimental data obtained during the past year's injector tests are summarized and their relevance to the one kilowatt FEL are discussed.