The new FLUTE facilitiy (name abbreviation derived from its German name: Ferninfrarot Linac- und Test-Experiment) at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), developed and operated by IBPT, serves as an accelerator test facility for a variety of accelerator physics studies.

Function of FLUTE - Video and animation describing FLUTE (Video, 3 min, in English).

The core accelerator consists of a femtosecond chirped laser-driven photo-injector, a linear accelerator (linac) and an electron bunch compressor to provide ultra-short electron bunches. This compact versatile linear accelerator will also provide coherent radiation in ultra-short, very intense, light pulses spanning the terahertz and far-infrared spectral range and beyond. FLUTE also provides an infrastruture for picosecond and femtosecond electron and photon beam studies to enable future application-oriented research from materials to life sciences and innovative technology solutions such as advanced electron and photon beam diagnostics.

FLUTE Inauguration

Overview and parameters of the core accelerator designed for the FLUTE facility. A key feature is the large dynamic range in charge and bunch length to probe different regimes in beam dynamics and diagnostics.

Parameters and Layout

• Serve as an accelerator test facility
  • New beam diagnostics methods and tools
  • Synchronization on a femtosecond level
     
• Systematic bunch compression studies
  • Different compression schemes
  • Wide charge range from 1 pC up to 3 nC per bunch
  • Wide bunch length range from 1 fs up to 300 fs
     
• Compare different coherent THz radiation generation schemes in simulation and experiment
  • Coherent Synchrotron Radiation (CSR)
  • Coherent Edge Radiation (CER)
  • Coherent Transition Radiation (CTR)
     
• Create intense THz radiation
  • Spectral range up to 30 THz
  • High electric peak fields up to 1 GV/m