Progress in Ultra-Low β* Study at ATF2

A nanometer beam size in the interaction point (IP) is required in case of future linear colliders for achieving the desired rate of particle collisions. KEK Accelerator Test Facility (ATF2), a scaled down implementation of the beam delivery system (BDS), serves for investigating the limits of electron beam focusing at the interaction point. The goal of the ultra-low beta∗ study is to lower the IP vertical beam size by lowering the beta_{y}∗ value while keeping the beta_{x}∗ value unchanged. Good control over the beam optics is therefore required. The first experience with low beta∗ optics revealed a mismatch between the optics designed in the model with respect to the beam parameters observed in the experiment. Additionally, existing methods of beam parameters characterization at the IP were biased with high uncertainties making it difficult to set the desired optics. In this paper we report on the new method introduced in ATF2 for IP beam parameters characterization which gives a good control over the applied optics and makes the ultra-low beta∗ study possible to conduct. It can be also used for verifying the performance of some of the existing beam instrumentation devices.