Development of high performance electron beam switching system for Swiss Free Electron Laser at PSI

A compact X-ray Free Electron Laser (SwissFEL) is under development at the Paul Scherrer Institute. To increase facility efficiency the main linac will operate in two electron bunch mode. The two bunches are separated in time by 28 ns and sent to two undulator lines. The combination of two beam lines should produce short X-ray pulses covering wavelength range from 1 to 70 Å with submicron position stability. To separate the two bunches, a novel electron beam switching system is being developed. The total deflection is achieved with a combination of high Q-factor resonant deflector magnet, followed by a DC septum magnet. The shot-to-shot deflection stability of the entire switching system should be <+/-10 ppm in amplitude and +/-100 ps in time, values which present severe measurement difficulties. Deflection magnets requirements, development and results of the kicker prototype are presented.