Status of the R&D Program at the Gun Test Facility

The Gun Test Facility (GTF) consists of a 1.6-cell S-band photocathode gun and a single SLAC 3-m accelerating structure (booster) followed by a beam dump. The beam components are housed in the SPEAR synchrotron injector vault in Building 140. Outside the vault are the two XK5 klystrons/modulators that provide the rf power, and the laser shack and control area. The laser shack contains a high-power low repetition rate Nd:glass laser system used to produce photoelectrons from the copper cathode of the gun. Using an earlier (borrowed) version of the laser system, first beams were produced in 1997. Completion of installation and commissioning took place in 1998, and the first experimental results were obtained [1,2]. In 1999, the laser system was completely replaced with a SLAC-owned, nearly duplicate, system [3].