Proposal for a deflecting system for streak camera with sub-ps resolution and wide dynamic range

We propose an idea of a new scheme for significant improvement in streak camera technology. With the use of a radio-frequency-based spiral scanning sub-ps resolution can be maintained for an observation interval as long as 10 ns. In the new scheme, two operational regimes can be set for the camera. The first one is the circular scanning regime, which is suitable for single-light pulses with a total duration less than one RF period. The second regime accomplishes a spiral scanning, i.e., a circular scanning with variable strength, to overcome the problem of small duration of RF period. This regime is provided by an appropriate decrease in amplitude for the RF field in the cavities of the camera. A spiral scanning technique can be realized by the fast RF energy transition between two coupled cavities driven by a microwave switch.