High precision Low-level RF (LLRF) control and monitoring systems for future particle accelerators will be a significant technical challenge as the requirements in performance, flexibility and affordability become increasingly stringent. We have developed an RF system-on-chip (RFSoC) based next-generation LLRF (NG-LLRF) for S-band accelerating structures, which samples and synthesizes the RF pulses directly without the analog mixers used for traditional LLRF systems. The platform delivered considerably better performance than the requirements of the targeted applications, such as the upgrades for Next Linear Collider Test Accelerator (NLCTA) and test facilities at SLAC. As part of the upgrade program, we also developed a custom solid-state amplifier (SSA) to deliver RF pulses at the desired power level of the klystron. Integration of the LLRF with the SSA and the high-power test facility could be challenging. The power levels and RF pulse stability at each stage of the high-power RF drive system must be optimized to deliver the desired RF performance. In this paper, the integration procedure and the test and characterization results at each stage of integration will be summarized, analyzed and discussed. This integration is an essential step for the full deployment of the NG-LLRF system to test facilities and accelerators in different frequency bands.

The Cool Copper Collider (C3) is a linear accelerator (LINAC) concept based on compact, high gradient, and normal conducting accelerator technology to support Higgs boson studies at 250 GeV and 550 GeV center of mass. The C3 accelerator is ten kilometers in scale and consist of 2,200 RF stations for 550 GeV center of mass. To maintain the stringent beam quality required by the collider across the LINACs, each of the cavities has a dedicated low-level RF (LLRF) system to stabilize the phase and amplitude of the field in the cavities from pulse to pulse and to compensate the fluctuation of the RF field within each pulse introduced by the beam loading process. To meet the design goals of being compact and affordable for future accelerators, we have designed the next generation LLRF (NG-LLRF) with a higher integration level based on radio frequency system-on-chip (RFSoC) technology. The NG-LLRF system samples RF signals directly and performs RF mixing digitally. The NG-LLRF has been characterized in loopback mode to evaluate the performance of the system and has also been tested with a standing-wave accelerating structure, a prototype structure for the C3 with peak RF power level up to 16.45 MW. This paper will focus on introducing the LLRF system design and timing system for C3 and the current NG-LLRF design. The high-power test results at different stages of the test setup with several pulse modulation schemes, including square pulse, pulse with phase reversals, and pulse trains, will be summarized, analyzed, and discussed.

One pathway to producing high brightness electron beams is to use a radio-frequency (rf) driven high field photogun to rapidly accelerate photoemitted electrons to the relativistic regime and pre- serve the brightness. However, the highest attainable field is limited by rf breakdowns of materials used in a photogun. Shortening rf pulse duration feeding into a photogun provides a viable path- way to achieve high field and prevent rf breakdowns. Here we propose and investigate Compressed Ultrashort Pulse Injector Demonstrator (CUPID), a nanosecond rf pulses driven photogun powered by a klystron and rf pulse compression system capable of achieving 300 MW at 20 ns duration, to produce bright electron beams with high electric field. We first introduce the design of the CUPID photogun and its expected rf performance at 500 MV/m driven by high power nanosecond rf pulses, followed by beam dynamics studies showing its capability for producing bright electron beams with 60 nm emittance when forming a photoinjector with a superconducting solenoid and downstream accelerating structures. Finally, we show a proof-of-concept start-to-end simulation of the CUPID photoinjector paired with the existing Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) copper accelerator free-electron laser (FEL) to demonstrate achievable mJ pulse energy very hard x-ray photons at 40 keV or higher.

This document outlines a community-driven Design Study for a 10 TeV pCM Wakefield Accelerator Collider. The 2020 ESPP Report emphasized the need for Advanced Accelerator R&D, and the 2023 P5 Report calls for the “delivery of an end-to-end design concept, including cost scales, with self-consistent parameters throughout." This Design Study leverages recent experimental and theoretical progress resulting from a global R&D program in order to deliver a unified, 10 TeV Wakefield Collider concept. Wakefield Accelerators provide ultra-high accelerating gradients which enables an upgrade path that will extend the reach of Linear Colliders beyond the electroweak scale. Here, we describe the organization of the Design Study including timeline and deliverables, and we detail the requirements and challenges on the path to a 10 TeV Wakefield Collider.

Emittance preservation in the main linac is the driving consideration for developing the alignment and vibration tolerances of any future linear collider. Here we present the first beam dynamics analysis of the main linac for the Cool Copper Collider (C-3), a novel concept for a linear collider utilizing a cryogenically-cooled copper linac with a distributed coupling architecture. The C(3)main linacs bring the beam energy from 10 GeV to 125 GeV for 250 GeV center-of-mass collisions. This concept allows for the use of standing-wave accelerating structures with integrated damping and detuning for higher-order mode suppression. The use of standing wave accelerating structures allows for optimization of the magnetic FODO lattice period to improve transport (maximize alignment tolerances) without impacting the rf to beam efficiency. In this work, beam transport is analyzed including both the short and long-range wakefields. Alignment and vibration tolerances are determined to provide emittance preservation sufficient to meet target luminosity metrics. Alignment tolerances are studied under the assumption of beam based alignment to achieve dispersion free steering. Closely spaced main linac components must be aligned to 10 mu m within a cryomodule. At longer ranges, up to hundred micron scale alignment is sufficient between components separated by 100s m to a km. In order to keep emittance growth at similar to 10%, it was determined that vibration tolerances, or random motion of components at frequencies >30 Hz, for rf structures are 10 mu m. For quadrupoles, vibration tolerances are 10 nm.

The contributions presented during the Working Group 7: Linear Colliders (WG7) sessions at the 2024 Advanced Accelerator Concepts Workshop are briefly summarized, as well as the discussions regarding a design initiative for a linear collider based on wakefield accelerator technology.

The low-level RF (LLRF) systems for S-band linear accelerating structures are typically implemented with heterodyne base architectures. We have developed and characterized the next generation LLRF (NG-LLRF) based on the RF system-on-chip (RFSoC) for C-band accelerating structures, and the platform delivered the pulse-to-pulse fluctuation levels considerably better than the requirement of the targeted applications. The NG-LLRF system uses the direct RF sampling technique of the RFSoC, which significantly simplified the architecture compared to the conventional LLRF. We have extended the frequency range of the NG-LLRF to S-band and experimented with different RFSoC devices and system designs to meet the more stringent requirements for S-band LLRF applications. In this paper, the characterization results of the platform with different system architectures will be summarized and the high-power test results of the NG-LLRF with the S-band accelerating structure in the Next Linear Collider Test Accelerator (NLCTA) test facility at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory will be presented and analyzed.

RF pulse modulation techniques are widely applied to shape RF pulses for various types of RF stations of particle accelerators. The amplitude and phase modulations are typically implemented with additional RF components that require drive or control electronics. For the RF system-on-chip (RFSoC) based next generation LLRF (NG-LLRF) platform, which we have developed in the last several years, RF modulation and demodulation are fully implemented in the digital domain. Therefore, arbitrary RF pulse shaping can be realized without any additional analogue components. We performed a range of high-power experiments with the NG-LLRF and a prototype Cool Copper Collider (C3) structure. In this paper, the RF field measured at different stages with different pulse shapes and peak power levels up to 5.4 MW and pulse width about 1 microsecond will be demonstrated and analyzed. The high precision pulse shaping schemes of the NG-LLRF can be applied to realize the phase modulation for a linear accelerator injector, the phase reversal for a pulse compressor, or the modulation required to compensate for the beam loading effect.

The Linear Collider Vision calls for a Linear Collider Facility with a physics reach from a Higgs Factory to the TeV-scale with e^+e^- collisions. One of the technologies under consideration for the accelerator is a cold-copper distributed-coupling linac capable of achieving high gradient. This technology is being pursued by the C^3 collaboration to understand its applicability to future colliders and broader scientific applications. In this input we share the baseline parameters for a C^3 Higgs-factory and the energy reach of up to 3 TeV in the 33 km tunnel foreseen under the Linear Collider Vision. Recent results, near-term plans and future R&D needs are highlighted.

Emerging communications and computing technologies will rely ever-more on expanding the useful radio frequency (RF) spectrum into the sub-THz and THz frequency range. Both classical and quantum applications would benefit from advancing integration and incorporation of sub-THz and electro-optic technologies into common devices, such as modulators. Here we demonstrate an integrated triply-resonant, superconducting electro-optic transducer. Our design incorporates an on-chip 107 GHz sub-THz niobium titanium nitride superconducting resonator, modulating a thin-film lithium niobate optical racetrack resonator operating at telecom wavelengths. We observe a maximum photon transduction efficiency of η_OE≈ 0.82× 10^-6 and an average single-photon electro-optic interaction rate of g_0/2π≈ 0.7 kHz. We also present a study and analysis of the challenges associated with the design of integrated sub-THz resonators and propose possible solutions to these challenges. Our work paves the way for further advancements in resonant electro-optic technologies operating at sub-THz frequencies.

Probing the dynamics of superconducting transitions induced by strong electromagnetic fields is vital to designing high power devices leveraging these materials. The development of high temperature superconductors (HTS) is particularly interesting due to critical temperatures (T_c) approaching 90 K, the ability to support high current densities, and their ability to operate in strong static magnetic fields. This work aims to determine the transition dynamics of these materials at radio-frequencies (rf) in the microwave range where they have enormous potential for new applications ranging from particle accelerators to dark matter searches. We have tested two types of coatings formed from rare earth barium copper oxide (REBCO): a film deposited by electron-beam physical vapor deposition, and HTS conductor tapes soldered to a copper substrate with exposed REBCO surfaces. Testing was performed via a hemispherical transverse-electric mode cavity that maximizes the surface rf magnetic field and minimizes the surface electric field on a 2-inch diameter sample. We report on steady-state measurements at low rf power, as well as fully time-resolved transition dynamics on the microsecond timescale seen for the first time with strong surface rf fields.

Terahertz (THz) generation by optical rectification in LiNbO_3 (LN) is a widely used technique for generating intense THz radiation. The spatiotemporal characterization of THz pulses from these sources is currently limited to far-field methods. While simulations of tilted pulse front THz generation have been published, little work has been done to measure the near-field properties of the THz source. A better understanding of the THz near-field properties will improve optimization of THz generation efficiency, transport, and coupling. We demonstrate a technique for quantitative spatiotemporal characterization of single-cycle strong-field THz pulses with 2D near-field electro-optic imaging. We have reconstructed the full temporal 3D THz near-field and shown how the phase front can be tailored by controlling the incident pump pulse.

Cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED) is a powerful tool in quantum science, enabling preparation of non-classical states of light and scalable entanglement of many atoms coupled to a single field mode. While the most coherent atom-photon interactions have been achieved using superconducting millimeter-wave cavities coupled to Rydberg atoms, these platforms so far lack the optical access required for trapping and addressing individual atomic qubits. We present a millimeter-wave Fabry-Pérot cavity with finesse 5.8(1) × 10^7 at a temperature of 1 K providing generous transverse optical access (numerical aperture 0.56). Conflicting goals of strong atom-photon coupling and optical access motivate a near-confocal geometry. Close to confocality, however, post-paraxial corrections to the cavity spectrum introduce unexpected degeneracies between transverse modes, leading to excess cavity loss. Modeling these corrections allows for tuning the cavity geometry to evade this loss, producing a high finesse that will enable cavity QED experiments with trapped atoms deep in the strong coupling regime.

In various of particle accelerator designs, amplitude and phase modulation methods are commonly applied to shape the RF pulses for implementing pulse compressors or compensating for the fluctuations introduced by the high-power RF components and beam loading effects. Phase modulations are typically implemented with additional phase shifters that require drive or control electronics. With our recent next-generation LLRF (NG-LLRF) platform developed based on direct RF sampling technology of RF system-on-chip (RFSoC) devices, RF pulse shaping can be realized without the analogue phase shifters, which can significantly simplify the system architecture. We performed a range of high-power experiments in the C-band to evaluate the RF pulse-shaping capabilities of the NG-LLRF system at different stages of the RF circuits. In this paper, the high-power characterization results with the Cool Copper Collider (C3) structure driven by RF pulses with different modulation schemes will be described. With the pulse modulation and demodulation completely implemented in the digital domain, the RF pulse shaping schemes can be rapidly adapted for X-band structures simply by adding analogue mixers.

Achieving high instantaneous luminosity while managing the beaminduced background (BIB) is critical for the successful operation of any future electron-positron (e+e−) collider. In this work, we summarize the first extensive luminosity studies for a proposed linear collider, the Cool Copper Collider (C3), which are originally presented in [1]. We evaluate the impact of key beam parameters on the luminosity of C3, and tune these parameters with the objective of optimizing the luminosity, without a commensurate increase in the accompanying BIB. Additionally, using a common simulation framework, we perform a comparative analysis of the luminosity and BIB characteristics of C3 with those for other linear colliders. Finally, we present preliminary results towards an automatized luminosity optimization scheme.

A high-energy electron-positron collider has been widely recognized by the particle physics community to be the next crucial step for detailed studies of the Higgs boson and other fundamental particles and processes. Several proposals for such colliders, either linear or circular, are currently under evaluation. Any such collider will be required to reach high lumimosities, in order to collect enough data at a reasonable time scale, while at the same time coping with high rates of background particles produced from beam-beam interactions during the collisions. In this paper, we analyze the luminosity and beam-beam interaction characteristics of the Cool Copper Collider (C$^3$) and perform a comparison with other linear collider proposals. We conclude that C$^3$ can reach the same or higher collision rates as the other proposals, without having to cope with higher beam-induced background fluxes. Thus, C$^3$ emerges as an attractive option for a future electron-positron collider, benefiting from the collective advancements in beam delivery and final focus system technologies developed by other linear collider initiatives.

Recently, considerable work has been directed at the development of an ultracompact X-ray free-electron laser (UCXFEL) based on emerging techniques in high-field cryogenic acceleration, with attendant dramatic improvements in electron beam brightness and state-of-the-art concepts in beam dynamics, magnetic undulators, and X-ray optics. A full conceptual design of a 1 nm (1.24 keV) UCXFEL with a length and cost over an order of magnitude below current X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs) has resulted from this effort. This instrument has been developed with an emphasis on permitting exploratory scientific research in a wide variety of fields in a university setting. Concurrently, compact FELs are being vigorously developed for use as instruments to enable next-generation chip manufacturing through use as a high-flux, few nm lithography source. This new role suggests consideration of XFELs to urgently address emerging demands in the semiconductor device sector, as identified by recent national need studies, for new radiation sources aimed at chip manufacturing. Indeed, it has been shown that one may use coherent X-rays to perform 10–20 nm class resolution surveys of macroscopic, cm scale structures such as chips, using ptychographic laminography techniques. As the XFEL is a very promising candidate for realizing such methods, we present here an analysis of the issues and likely solutions associated with extending the UCXFEL to harder X-rays (above 7 keV), much higher fluxes, and increased levels of coherence, as well as methods of applying such a source for ptychographic laminography to microelectronic device measurements. We discuss the development path to move the concept to rapid realization of a transformative XFEL-based application, outlining both FEL and metrology system challenges.

SLAC is developing multiple compact, lightweight, and portable integrated accelerator systems. Being developed for these systems are integrated modulators, low-level RF controls, linac structures, and RF sources. Advances in each of these technologies has paved a path forward for a fully integrated man-portable linear accelerator system. Due to the size and weight constraint of these systems, relatively low voltage (similar to 60 kV) X-band and C-band klystrons have been developed. A push towards scalable and cost-effective RF sources has enabled the novel design of multiple compact klystrons. An update on the build and test status of some of these klystrons will be presented in this work.

The manufacturing of active RF devices like klystrons is dominated by expensive and time-consuming cycles of machining and brazing. In this article, we characterize the RF properties of X-band klystron cavities and an integrated circuit manufactured with a novel additive manufacturing process. Parts are 3D printed in 316 L stainless steel with direct metal laser sintering, electroplated in copper, and brazed in one simple braze cycle. Stand-alone test cavities and integrated circuit cavities were measured throughout the manufacturing process. The un-tuned cavity frequency varies by less than 5% of the intended frequency, and Q factors reach above 1200. A tuning study was performed, and unoptimized tuning pins achieved a tuning range of 138 MHz without compromising Q. Klystron system performance was simulated with as-built cavity parameters and realistic tuning. Together, these results show promise that this process can be used to cheaply and quickly manufacture a new generation of highly integrated high power vacuum devices.