A method for measuring the time structure of synchrotron x-ray beams

We describe a method employing a plastic scintillator coupled to a fast photomultiplier tube to generate a timing pulse from the x-ray bursts emitted from a synchrotron radiation source. This technique is useful for performing synchrotron experiments where detailed knowledge of the timing distribution is necessary, such as time resolved spectroscopy or fluorescence lifetime experiments. By digitizing the time difference between the timing signal generated on one beam crossing with the timing signal generated on the next beam crossing, the time structure of a synchrotron beam can be analyzed. Using this technique, we have investigated the single bunch time structure at the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS) during pilot runs in January, 1989, and found that the majority of the beam (96%) is contained in one rf bucket, while the remainder of the beam (4%) is contained in satellite rf buckets preceeding and following the main rf bucket by 19 ns. 1 ref., 4 figs