The THz beamline at DELTA: Commissioning, first experimental results, and future plans

DELTA is a 1.5 GeV synchrotron light source operated by the TU Dortmund University. A dedicated THz beamline, which extracts and detects coherent THz pulses caused by a laser-induced density modulation of the electron bunches, has been constructed and commissioned during 2011. Using a liquid-helium-cooled bolometer as detector, first experimental results regarding the bunch profile, the dependence of the THz signal on the bunch current, and the laser-electron overlap at the new short-pulse facility were obtained. Future plans include the improvement of stability and availability as well as the construction of an experimental endstation for FT-IR spectroscopy.