Smith-Purcell coherent THz radiation signal modulation measurements for monitoring of separation of femtosecond electron micro-bunches

Micro-bunched particle beams are used for a wide range of research including tunable sources of THz radiation. In most of the applications accurate and non-destructive monitoring of the bunch-to-bunch separation is required. We present the results of proof-of-principle experiments on measuring the distance between two micro-bunches via the analysis of the coherent Smith-Purcell signal amplitude modulation. The proposed monitor can be used to provide feedback to control the sum-millimeter distances between the femtosecond long micro-bunches to stabilize the operation of a THz oscillator or to position the witness bunch into the right phase of the wakefield.