High brightness electron sources for linac based free-electron lasers (FELs) are being developed at the Photo Injector Test facility at DESY, Zeuthen site (PITZ). Production of electron bunches with extremely small transverse emittance is the focus of the PITZ scientific program. The photoinjector optimization in 2008-2009 for a bunch charge of 1, 0.5, 0.25, and 0.1 nC resulted in measured emittance values which are beyond the requirements of the European XFEL [S. Rimjaem et al., Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res., Sect. A 671, 62 (2012)]. Several essential modifications were commissioned in 2010-2011 at PITZ, resulting in further improvement of the photoinjector performance. Significant improvement of the rf gun phase stability is a major contribution in the reduction of the measured transverse emittance. The old TESLA prototype booster was replaced by a new cut disk structure cavity. This allows acceleration of the electron beam to higher energies and supports much higher flexibility for stable booster operation as well as for longer rf pulses which is of vital importance especially for the emittance optimization of low charge bunches. The transverse phase space of the electron beam was optimized at PITZ for bunch charges in the range between 0.02 and 2 nC, where the quality of the beam measurements was preserved by utilizing long pulse train operation. The experimental optimization yielded worldwide unprecedented low normalized emittance beams in the whole charge range studied.

a b s t r a c tHigh brightness electron sources for linac based short-wavelength free-electron lasers are developed and optimized for small transverse projected emittance at the photo-injector test facility at DESY, location Zeuthen (PITZ). A major part of the measurement program at PITZ is dedicated to transverse phase space optimization in order to fulfill the requirements of the European X-ray free-electron laser (European XFEL). A laser-driven RF-gun, treated with a dry-ice sublimation-impulse cleaning technique, a new photocathode laser system allowing short rise and fall times of the flat-top temporal distribution as well as several new diagnostic components have been installed at PITZ in 2008. The electrons generated via the photo-effect at a cesium telluride (Cs 2 Te) cathode are accelerated by a 1.6 cell L-band RF-gun cavity with a maximum accelerating gradient at the cathode of about 60 MV/m. The transverse projected emittance is measured using a single slit scan technique. In the 2008-2009 run period, a detailed characterization of the projected transverse emittance was performed at different operating conditions. Optimizations and measurement results as well as simulation predictions of the transverse projected emittance for bunch charges of 1, 0.5, 0.25 and 0.1 nC are presented and discussed in this paper. The geometric mean of the normalized projected rms emittance in both transverse directions for an electron bunch charge of 1 nC was measured to be 0.8970.01 mm mrad for a 100% rms phase-space distribution.

The optimization of working parameters controlling the transfer of an analyte from the separation into the spray capillary at the liquid junction interface is a complex problem. The numerical models of hydrodynamic flow, electric field strength and the consequential mass transfer provide a valuable insight into the function of the miniaturized device. The results revealed that the most important parameter is the electric field strength inside the gap between the separation and spray capillaries. In a strong electric field, the analyte leaving the separation capillary is immediately transferred into the spray capillary at its maximum concentration. Although the losses of analyte outside the interface are dominant in this case, the sprayed concentration determines the detection sensitivity. Since only a small amount of the sprayed material enters mass spectrometer, the losses at the interface do not influence the sensitivity. At low electric field strength the total amount of analytes is transferred into the spray capillary. In this case, however, the analytes enter the capillary slowly and, as a result, are significantly diluted. The electric field strength, pressure and dimensions determine the mass transfer in the interface and must be considered when the optimum conditions of an analysis are chosen. Several fold improvement in sensitivity and efficiency of the method can be expected when working under the optimum conditions.

The partial differential equation describing unsteady velocity profile of electroosmotic flow (EOF) in a cylindrical capillary filled with a nonconstant viscosity electrolyte was derived. Analytical solution, based on the general Navier-Stokes equation, was found for constant viscosity electrolytes using the separation of variables (Fourier method). For the case of a nonconstant viscosity electrolyte, the steady-state velocity profile was calculated assuming that the viscosity decreases exponentially in the direction from the wall to the capillary center. Since the respective equations with nonconstant viscosity term are not solvable in general, the method of continuous binding conditions was used to solve this problem. In this method, an arbitrary viscosity profile can be modeled. The theoretical conclusions show that the relaxation times at which an EOF approaches the steady state are too short to have an impact on a separation process in any real systems. A viscous layer at the wall affects EOF significantly, if it is thicker than the Debye length of the electric double layer. The presented description of the EOF dynamics is applicable to any microfluidic systems.

A new concept for electrospray coupling of microfluidic devices with mass spectrometry was developed. The sampling orifice of the time-of-flight mass spectrometer was modified with an external adapter assisting in formation and transport of the electrosprayed plume from the multichannel polycarbonate microdevice. The compact disk sized microdevice was designed with radial channels extending to the circumference of the disk. The electrospray exit ports were formed by the channel openings on the surface of the disk rim. No additional tips at the channel exits were used. Electrospray was initiated directly from the channel openings by applying high voltage between sample wells and the entrance of the external adapter. The formation of the spatially unstable droplet at the electrospray openings was eliminated by air suction provided by a pump connected to the external adapter. Compared with the air intake through the original mass spectrometer sampling orifice, more than an order of magnitude higher flow rate was achieved for efficient transport of the electrospray plume into the mass spectrometer. Additional experiments with electric potentials applied between the entrance sections of the external adapter and the mass spectrometer indicated that the air flow was the dominant transport mechanism. Basic properties of the system were tested using mathematical modeling and characterized using ESI/TOF-MS measurements of peptide and protein samples.