Effects of emittance and space-charge in femtosecond bunch compression

Ultrashort electron bunches of the order of < 100 fs are essential for the study of ultrafast reactions and phenomena by means of time-resolved pump-probe experiments. In order to generate such an electron bunch, the effects of emittance, space-charge (SC) and coherent synchrotron radiation (CSR) on the bunch length in a femtosecond magnetic bunch compressor were studied theoretically. It was observed that the bunch length is dominated by the emittance, SC and CSR effects when the electron bunch is compressed into a femtosecond electron bunch. The increases in bunch length due to the transverse emittance, SC and CSR effects in the bunch compressor were 1.7 fs/mm mrad, 107 fs/nC and 72 fs/nC, respectively. Finally, the simulated bunch length was compared with the experimental results.