High brightness beams and applications

This paper describes the present research on attaining intense bright electron beams. Thermionic systems are briefly covered. Recent and past results from the photoinjector programs are given. The performance advantages and difficulties presently faced by researchers using photoinjectors is discussed. The progress that has been made in photocathode materials, both in lifetime and quantum efficiency, is covered. Finally, a discussion of emittance measurements of photoinjector systems and how the measurement is complicated by the non-thermal nature of the electron beam is presented