Improved Long Radius of Curvature Measurement System for FEL Mirrors

The 53.73 meter long Duke free electron laser (FEL) cavity consists of two concave mirrors with radius of curvature longer than 27 meters. A proper radius of curvature is designed to achieve an optimal and stable operation of the FEL. This requires accurate measurements of the cavity mirror’s radius of curvature before its initial installation. Subsequent radius of curvature measurements are performed to ensure no significant deformation of the mirror occurs after a period of extensive use. A direct measurement based upon the geometric optics principles has been used at Duke FEL Lab (DFELL) for years. Recently, we have significantly upgraded this measurement apparatus by utilizing a He-Ne laser as the light source and a straight wire with a proper size as the object. In this paper we describe the details of the measurement setup and report the benefits of the recent upgrades. In addition, we report the improved data analysis technique and results of recent long radius of curvature measurements.