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Description
The SPARC-LAB test facility at LNF (Frascati) is equipped with a high-brightness photo injector used to explore and develop advanced beam manipulation techniques. This photo-injector can generate high brightness two electron bunches (witness and driver) needed for plasma acceleration. To obtain these, the cathode of the photo-injector at SPARC-LAB is illuminated by a train of laser pulses, while the first acceleration section exploits the "velocity bunching" technique. This combination allows for the creation of well-controlled electron bunch trains with high brightness. The goal of this research is to optimize the dynamics of the photo-injector to improve the beam quality and enhance the performance of plasma acceleration. To achieve this, beam dynamics analyses have been performed, involving the scanning and variation of different parameters of the electron beams, using the ASTRA simulation code. The results obtained from these optimization studies have then been applied in the operation of the actual machine setup and have been positively confirmed by good experimental results concerning the stability and accelerating gradient in the plasma.
