Longitudinal Phase-space Characterization of Electron Bunches with THz streaking and tomography

Transverse streaking of electron bunches with laser-derived THz frequency sources offers potential for compact and very-high (femtosecond) time resolution characterization of electron beams. We consider, through modelling and experiment, the streaking of electron bunches in dielectric-lined waveguide structures where the THz and electron velocities are matched. THz frequency streaking has the advantage over established RF driven deflection techniques of extremely high streak rate for modest peak field strength. It however faces an additional challenge in interpretation when bunch durations comparable to the streak period. We develop and demonstrate tomography-like retrieval techniques which overcome this challenge and enable detailed retrieval of electron density with time with sub-100fs time resolution.