Results of the SLAC LCLS gun high-power RF tests

The beam quality and operational requirements for the Linac coherent light source (LCLS) currently being constructed at SLAC are exceptional, requiring the design of a new RF photocathode gun for the electron source. Based on operational experience at SLAC's GTF and SDL and ATF at BNL as well as other laboratories, the 1.6 cell s-band (2856 MHz) gun was chosen to be the best electron source for the LCLS, however a significant re-design was necessary to achieve the challenging parameters. Detailed 3-D analysis and design was used to produce near-perfect rotationally symmetric rf fields to achieve the emittance requirement. In addition, the thermo-mechanical design allows the gun to operate at 120 Hz and a 140 MV/m cathode field, or to an average power dissipation of 4 kW. Both average and pulsed heating issues are addressed in the LCLS gun design. The first LCLS gun is now fabricated and has been operated with high-power RF. The results of these high-power tests are presented and discussed.