Measurement of the coherence of synchrotron radiation

The first-order spatial (transverse) coherence of synchrotron radiation has been measured using a Young's interferometer at BL28A (a helical-undulator beamline) of the Photon Factory, KEK. The range of the photon energy is about 70-180 eV. The visibility of the fringe was found to depend largely on the electron emittance and the intrinsic photon emittance. In principle, it is possible to gain knowledge of the very small electron emittance, of the order of 10^-10 m rad, without disturbing the electron beam in the storage ring.