Recent Developments in the Design of the Nlc Positron Source*

Recent developments in the design of the Next Linear Collider (NLC) positron source based on updated beam parameters are described. The unpolarized NLC positron source [1,2] consists of a dedicated 6.2 GeV S-band electron accelerator, a high-Z positron production target, a capture system and an L-band positron linac. The 1998 failure of the SLC target, which is currently under investigation, may lead to a variation of the target design. Progress towards a polarized positron source is also presented. A moderately polarized positron beam colliding with a highly polarized electron beam results in an effective polarization large enough to explore new physics at NLC. One of the schemes towards a polarized positron source incorporates a polarized electron source, a 50 MeV electron accelerator, a thin target for positron production and a new capture system optimized for highenergy, small angular-divergence positrons. The yield for such a process, checked using the EGS4 code, is of the order of 10. The EGS4 code has being enhanced to include the effect of polarization in bremsstrahlung and pair-production process.