Wisconsin Srf Electron Gun Commissioning*

The University of Wisconsin-Madison has completed installation of a superconducting electron gun. Its concept was optimized to be the source for a CW free electron laser facility with multiple megahertz repetition rate end stations. This VHF superconducting configuration holds the promise of the highest performance for CW injectors. Initial commissioning efforts show that the cavity can achieve gradients of 35 MV/m at the cathode position. With the cathode inserted CW operation has been achieved at 20 MV/m with good control of microphonics, negligible dark current, and Q0 > 3×10 9 at 4 K. Bunch charges of ~100 pC have been delivered, and first simple beam measurements made. These preliminary results are very encouraging for production of 100s pC bunches with millimeter-milliradian or smaller normalized emittances.