Bright, RF photocathode electron guns are the source of choice for most high‐performance research accelerator applications. Some of these applications are pushing the performance boundaries of the present state‐of‐the‐art guns. Advanced Energy Systems is developing a novel photocathode RF gun that shows excellent promise for extending gun performance. Initial gun simulations with only a short booster accelerator easily break the benchmark emittance of one micron for 1 nC of bunch charge. The pulse length in these simulations is less than 2 ps. It is expected that with more detailed optimization studies, the performance can be further improved. The performance details of the gun will be presented. In addition, we will discuss the present design concept along with the status of the project. © 2003 American Institute of Physics