Femto-seconds Electron Beam Diffraction Using a Photocathode Rf Gun*

One of the 21 century scientific frontiers is to explore the molecule structure transition on the femtosecond time scale. X-ray free electron laser (XFEL) is one of the tools now under development for investigating femto-second structure transition. We are proposing an alternative technique – femto-second electron diffraction based on a photocathode RF gun. We will present a design of a kHz femto-seconds electron diffraction system based on a photocathode RF gun. Our simulation shows that, the photocathode RF gun can produce 100 fs (FWHM) electron bunch with millions electrons at about 2 MeV. This is at least one order of magnitude reduction in bunch length, and two orders of magnitude increase in number of electrons comparing to present time-resolved electron diffraction system. We will also discuss various issues and limitations related to MeV electron diffraction.