CIRCE: A dedicated storage ring for coherent THz synchrotron radiation

We present the concepts for an electron storage ring dedicated to and optimized for the production of stable coherent synchrotron radiation (CSR) over the far-infrared terahertz wavelength range from 200 mm to about one cm. CIRCE (Coherent InfraRed CEnter) will be a 66 m circumference ring located on top of the ALS booster synchrotron shielding tunnel and using the existing ALS injector. This location provides enough floor space for both the CIRCE ring, its required shielding, and numerous beamlines. We briefly outline a model for CSR emission in which a static bunch distortion induced by the synchrotron radiation field is used to significantly extend the stable CSR emission towards higher frequencies. This model has been verified with experimental CSR results. We present the calculated CIRCE photon flux where a gain of 6 - 9 orders of magnitude is shown compared to existing far-IR sources. Additionally, the particular design of the dipole vacuum chamber has been optimized to allow an excellent transmission of these far-infrared wavelengths. We believe that the CIRCE source can be constructed for a modest cost.