KEK/ATF damping ring

One of the major challenges in the next-generation electron-positron linear colliders is to produce and control multi-bunch beams with extremely small transverse emittance. The Accelerator Test Facility (ATF) at KEK is a test accelerator that has been built to study the feasibility of production, damping, control and diagnosis of such beams. The facility consists of a multi-bunch capable thermionic gun, bunchers, followed by a 1.54 GeV S-band injector, beam transport and a test damping ring. This paper reports the preliminary results from commissioning and accelerator studies of the test damping ring that has started in January, 1997.