New Design of the 40 GHz Bunch Arrival Time Monitor Using MTCA.4 Electronics at FLASH and for the European XFEL

At free-electron lasers, today’s pump-probe experiments and seeding schemes make high demands on the electron bunch timing stability with an arrival time jitter reduction down to the femtosecond level. At FLASH and the upcoming European XFEL, the bunch train structures with their high bunch repetition rates allow for an accurate intra-train stabilisation. To realise longitudinal beam-based feedbacks a reliable and precise arrival time detection over a broad range of bunch charges, which can even change from 1 nC down to 20 pC within a bunch train, is essential. Benefitting from the experience at FLASH, the current bunch arrival time monitors, based on detection of RF signals from broad-band pick-ups by use of electro-optic modulators, are further developed to cope with the increased requirements. In this paper, we present the new BAM prototype, including an adapted electro-optical front-end and the latest development of the read-out electronics based on the MTCA.4 platform.