Electron Beam Generation and Transport for the RHIC Electron Cooler

An electron cooler, based on an Energy Recovery Linac (ERL) is under development for the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at Brookhaven National Laboratory. This will be the first electron cooler operating at high energy with bunched beams. A better understanding of the cooling process and more accurate measurements of Intra Beam Scattering in RHIC have imposed increased requirements on the electron accelerator: Besides a doubling of the bunch charge to 20 nC, the strength of the cooling solenoid was increased five-fold to 5 Tesla. The magnetic field on the cathode should be increased to 500 Gauss to match the magnetization required in the cooling solenoid. This paper reports the measures taken to minimize the electron beam emittance in the cooling section.