Abstract
European XFEL is a free-electron laser (FEL) user facility providing soft and hard X-ray FEL radiation to initially six scientific instruments. Starting user operation in fall 2017 European XFEL will provide new research opportunities to users from science domains as diverse as physics, chemistry, geo- and planetary sciences, materials sciences or biology. The unique feature of European XFEL is the provision of high average brilliance in the soft and hard X-ray regime, combined with the pulse properties of FEL radiation of extreme peak intensities, femtosecond pulse duration and high degree of coherence. The high average brilliance is achieved through acceleration of up to 27,000 electron bunches per second by the super-conducting electron accelerator. Enabling the usage of this high average brilliance in user experiments is one of the major instrumentation drivers for European XFEL. The radiation generated by three FEL sources is distributed via long beam transport systems to the experiment hall where the scientific instruments are located side-by-side. The X-ray beam transport systems have been optimized to maintain the unique features of the FEL radiation which will be monitored using build-in photon diagnostics. The six scientific instruments are optimized for specific applications using soft or hard X-ray techniques and include integrated lasers, dedicated sample environment, large area high frame rate detector(s) and computing systems capable of processing large quantities of data.
Highlights
During the last decades, the development of X-ray light sources based on low emittance electron accelerators has enabled spectacular increases in the average and peak brilliances
In undulator sections much longer than for synchrotron radiation sources, the electron bunches are transported with high precision and collimation to enable the self-amplified spontaneous emission (SASE) process leading to free-electron lasers (FEL) gain and occurring in a single-pass of the electron bunch [1,2]
Already in 2006 European XFEL launched a significant program for the development of large area detectors for FEL experiments, since it was clear that the requirements to detectors for FEL
Summary
The development of X-ray light sources based on low emittance electron accelerators has enabled spectacular increases in the average and peak brilliances. In the SASE process, the electron bunch typically undergoes a degradation of its properties and cannot be reused for another FEL source It is instead dumped at the end of the beam transport. 10 mJ and possibly beyond, and pulse durations as short as single femtoseconds These properties correspond to peak brilliances eight to nine orders of magnitude higher than obtained by storage ring sources. Two technologies have been pursued to construct electron accelerators for FEL applications: warm, normal conducting machines and cold, super-conducting accelerators The latter allowing acceleration of electron bunches at a much higher repetition rate, thereby boosting the average brilliance and enabling to distribute electron bunches to many FEL sources. An outlook to future developments of the facility is provided
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