Projected performance of rf-linac-driven free-electron lasers in the extreme-ultraviolet spectral region

Abstract

A free-electron laser user facility for scientific experimentation in the vacuum-ultraviolet and soft X-ray spectral regions (together termed the XUV) is being developed at Los Alamos. The design includes a series of laser oscillators and amplifiers, driven by a single, rf-linear accelerator, that will generate broadly tunable, picosecond-pulse, coherent radiation from 1 to 400 nm. Below 300 nm, the peak- and average-power output of these FEL devices should surpass the capabilities of any existing, continuously tunable photon sources by many orders-of-magnitude. The design and output parameters of this facility are described, including comparison with synchrotron radiation sources and recent progress in developing the three primary components (electron beam, magnetic undulator and resonator mirrors) is cited.