Experimental study of a crystal positron source

Tungsten crystals oriented on their 〈111〉 axis, were submitted to 6 and 10 GeV electron beams on the SPS-CERN transfer lines. The crystals, 4 and 8 mm thick, used alone or associated to 4 mm thick amorphous disk, were studied as positron sources. The emerging positrons were detected by a Drift Chamber partially immersed in a magnetic field, where their trajectories were reconstructed providing the energy spectrum and the angular distribution. Significant enhancements were observed for the crystal source when compared to the amorphous one of the same thickness. The gain was larger than 3 and 2 for the 4 mm and 8 mm targets, respectively. The presented results look very promising for e+e− linear colliders.