Inverse Compton scattering electron spectroscopy of intense electron beam diodes

Summary form only given. The potential exploitation of inverse Compton scattering (ICS) as a diagnostic tool for the determination of electron properties within intense electron beam diodes has been investigated. The interaction of a laser beam with a beam of high-energy electrons create an ICS spectrum of photons. In principle, one should be able to glean information on the energies and positions of the electrons from the energy spectrum and differential cross section of these photons. While most of these ICS photons are emitted within 1//spl gamma/ radians of the electron velocity vector, a potentially observable number of photons are emitted off-axis. Progress in the development of this experimental technique is reported here.