Coherent transition radiation (CTR) is a widely used approach to characterize the electron beam in accelerator science and technology. Characterization of the CTR with an efficient, versatile and compact setup is in considerable demand for a wide range of applications such as free electron lasers, electron storage rings and other related scientific researches. In this article, we report on spatial-temporal electric field measurements of CTR using the single-shot electro-optic spatial decoding method. A quasi-half-cycle temporal waveform of the THz pulse with peak electric field strength of $\sim 42\mathrm{MV}/\mathrm{m}$ has been measured. A symmetrical field profile across the transverse center and the distorted wave front of CTR THz pulses near the focal plane were demonstrated. Moreover, timing jitters of the ultrashort electron beams are also monitored via this method with tens of femtosecond accuracy. This comprehensive method provides the temporal waveform and the one-dimensional spatial imaging of THz fields simultaneously, showing it has the potential for single-shot diagnostics of ultrashort electron beams.

• Received 28 May 2020
• Accepted 2 October 2020

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevAccelBeams.23.102802

Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.

Published by the American Physical Society