ELYSE-A picosecond electron accelerator for pulse radiolysis research

Recent years have seen an increasing interest in the use of intense, short pulse electron beams for pulsed radiolysis research. Laser driven photo-cathodes inserted in radio frequency (RF) guns are ideal candidates to provide electron beams for time-resolved spectroscopic observation of very fast chemical reactions. These guns have been developed through accelerator R&D programmes in the field of high brightness sources for other applications (linear colliders, free electron lasers). The Physical Chemistry Laboratory at the University of Paris-Sud has created a Fast Kinetics Centre for experimental pulse radiolysis with picosecond time resolution. At the heart of this new facility is a compact 4-9 MeV electron accelerator, ELYSE, using RF gun technology. It has been designed and built by the Linear Acclerator Laboratory at the University of Paris-Sud. We will describe the construction and commissioning of ELYSE, the first machine of this type in Europe.