Experimental characterization and numerical simulations of the electron source at PITZ

The Photo Injector Test facility at DESY Zeuthen (PITZ) works on the optimization of electron sources for Free Electron Lasers (FELs). The main motivation and challenge of PITZ is the production of electron beams with high charge and small normalized transverse emittance. Recent results of electron beam studies at PITZ are presented in this paper. The experimental characterization of the electron source is discussed together with beam dynamics simulations.