Ultrafast X-ray Science at the Sub-Picosecond Pulse Source

Abstract

The ultrafast, high brightness x-ray free electron laser (XFEL) sources of the future have the potential to revolutionize the study of time dependent phenomena in the natural sciences. These linear accelerator (linac) sources will generate femtosecond (fs) x-ray pulses with peak flux comparable to conventional lasers, and far exceeding all other x-ray sources. The Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) has pioneered the development of linac science and technology for decades, and since 2000 SLAC and the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory (SSRL) have focused on the development of linac based ultrafast electron and x-ray sources. This development effort has led to the creation of a new x-ray source, called the Sub-Picosecond Pulse Source (SPPS), which became operational in 2003 [1]. The SPPS represents the first step toward the world's first hard x-ray free electron laser (XFEL), the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), due to begin operation at SLAC in 2009. The SPPS relies on the same linac-based acceleration and electron bunch compression schemes that will be used at the LCLS to generate ultrashort, ultrahigh peak brightness electron bunches [2]. This involves creating an energy chirp on the electron bunch during acceleration and subsequent compression of the bunch in a series ofmore » energy-dispersive magnetic chicanes to create 80 fs electron pulses. The SPPS has provided an excellent opportunity to demonstrate the viability of these electron bunch compression schemes and to pursue goals relevant to the utilization and validation of XFEL light sources.« less