Single shot emittance measurement using Optical Transition Radiation

Abstract: We describe a method that uses Optical Transition Radiation (OTR) screens to measure in a single shot the emittance of an electron beam with an energy greater than 100 MeV. Our setup consists of 4 OTR screens located near a beam waist. A fit of the 4 profiles allows the reconstruction of the Twiss parameters and hence a calculation of the beam emittance. This layout has been simulated using Mathematica to study its sensitivity to errors and using Geant4 to include effects due to the scattering of the electrons in the screens. Some assumptions made in this document are conservative to allow for unexpected experimental issues.