Generation and characterization of microbunched beams with a wire mesh mask

We use a wire mesh mask placed in a dispersive region of the Accelerator Test Facility (ATF) at Brookhaven National Laboratory to produce a train of picosecond microbunches. The bunch spacing and charge can be tailored for specific applications. We plan on using this method to generate a train of drive bunches and a witness bunch for plasma wakefield accelerator experiments.