Demonstration of Single-Shot Picosecond Time-Resolved MeV Electron Imaging Using a Compact Permanent Magnet Quadrupole Based Lens

We present the results of an experiment where a short focal length (similar to 1.3 cm), permanent magnet electron lens is used to image micron-size features (of a metal sample) with a single shot from an ultrahigh brightness picosecond-long 4 MeV electron beam emitted by a radio-frequency photoinjector. Magnification ratios in excess of 30x were obtained using a triplet of compact, small gap (3.5 mm), Halbach-style permanent magnet quadrupoles with nearly 600 T/m field gradients. These results pave the way towards single-shot time-resolved electron microscopy and open new opportunities in the applications of high brightness electron beams.