Background Energy recovery linac (ERL) is one of the most promising routs for the development of high-average-power free electron laser (FEL). The infrared-terahertz free electron laser facility is the first ERL facility built in China.
Purpose This facility aims to investigate ERL-related beam physics and realize electron beam recirculation without FEL lasing.
Methods Initial beam commissioning was performed under the following operating conditions: macropulse current 1 mA, macropulse duration 500 μs, macropulse repetition frequency 1 Hz and micropulse repetition frequency 27.08 MHz.
Results The electron beam was successfully recirculated from 20 MeV to 7 MeV with an energy recovery efficiency of 99%.
Conclusions This achievement demonstrated the first realization of electron energy recovery in China.