Free-electron Laser Operation Research Articles

First operation of a harmonic lasing self-seeded free electron laser

Harmonic lasing is a perspective mode of operation of X-ray FEL user facilities that allows to provide brilliant beams of higher energy photons for user experiments. Another useful application of harmonic lasing is so called Harmonic Lasing Self-Seeded Free Electron Laser (HLSS FEL) that allows to improve spectral brightness of these facilities. In the past, harmonic lasing has been demonstrated in the FEL oscillators in infrared and visible wavelength ranges, but not in high-gain FELs and not at short wavelengths. In this paper we report on the first evidence of the harmonic lasing and the first operation of the HLSS FEL at the soft X-ray FEL user facility FLASH in the wavelength range between 4.5 nm and 15 nm. Spectral brightness was improved in comparison with Self-Amplified Spontaneous emission (SASE) FEL by a factor of six in the exponential gain regime. A better performance of HLSS FEL with respect to SASE FEL in the post-saturation regime with a tapered undulator was observed as well. The first demonstration of harmonic lasing in a high-gain FEL and at short wavelengths paves the way for a variety of applications of this new operation mode in X-ray FELs.

THz streak camera method for synchronous arrival time measurement of two-color hard X-ray FEL pulses.

The two-color operation of free electron laser (FEL) facilities allows the delivery of two FEL pulses with different energies, which opens new possibilities for user experiments. Measuring the arrival time of both FEL pulses relative to the external experimental laser and to each other improves the temporal resolution of the experiments using the two-color FEL beam and helps to monitor the performance of the machine itself. This work reports on the first simultaneous measurement of the arrival times of two hard X-ray FEL pulses with the THz streak camera. Measuring the arrival time of the two FEL pulses, the relative delay between them was calculated and compared to the set values. Furthermore, we present the first comparison of the THz streak camera method to the method of FEL induced transient transmission. The results indicate a good agreement between the two methods.

Design study of an echo-enabled harmonic generation free electron laser for the 24th harmonics

In this paper, we present an echo-enabled harmonic generation (EEHG) scheme to generate a free electron laser (FEL). The EEHG FEL utilizes two modulators and two chicanes that can generate a high harmonic density modulation with a low initial beam energy modulation. Using the beam parameters of a 150-MeV electron accelerator, we show that the EEHG scheme enhances FEL performance and generates coherent radiation with a wavelength of 100 nm. In this scheme, the 150-MeV electron beam is energy-modulated by using two lasers with wavelengths of 800 and 2400 nm. The modulated electron beam is sent to two chicanes whose dispersive strengths are 8.2 and 1.0 mm to convert energy modulation to density modulation. Finally, the density-modulated electron beam is sent to a radiator that is tuned to a wavelength of 100 nm and generates radiation with a peak power of 0.3 GW. We performed simulations of the laser-beam interaction by using the GENESIS code and showed that intense coherent radiation with a wavelength of 100 nm could be achieved from the two seeding lasers under the designed EEHG scheme.

Beam stability investigation for a free electron lithographic laser based on an energy-recovery linac

According to leading producers of microelectronic devices, lithography based on free electron lasers (FEL) could become the main technology for the mass production of elements with a scale up to 5 nm in the near future. One of the main hindrances in this path is the absence of working FEL with the required parameters. A feasibility study devoted to the production of such an FEL based on a superconducting energyrecovery linac (ERL) has been carried out at the Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics (BINP). The ERL average current is limited by longitudinal and transverse instabilities, caused by the interaction of an electron beam with the fields induced by it in the superconducting cavities. The estimations of the threshold currents and parameters of the ERL required for the operation of FEL are obtained.

Beam shaping to improve the free-electron laser performance at the Linac Coherent Light Source

A new operating mode has been developed for the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) in which we shape the longitudinal phase space of the electron beam. This mode of operation is realized using a horizontal collimator located in the middle of the first bunch compressor to truncate the head and tail of the beam. With this method, the electron beam longitudinal phase space and current profile are reshaped, and improvement in lasing performance can be realized. As a result, we present experimental studies at the LCLS of the beam shaping effects on the free-electron laser performance.

Interaction of a relativistic dense electron beam with a laser wiggler in a vacuum: self-field effects on the electron orbits and free-electron laser gain.

Employing laser wigglers and accelerators provides the potential to dramatically cut the size and cost of X-ray light sources. Owing to recent technological developments in the production of high-brilliance electron beams and high-power laser pulses, it is now conceivable to make steps toward the practical realisation of laser-pumped X-ray free-electron lasers (FELs). In this regard, here the head-on collision of a relativistic dense electron beam with a linearly polarized laser pulse as a wiggler is studied, in which the laser wiggler can be realised using a conventional quantum laser. In addition, an external guide magnetic field is employed to confine the electron beam against self-fields, therefore improving the FEL operation. Conditions allowing such an operating regime are presented and its relevant validity checked using a set of general scaling formulae. Rigorous analytical solutions of the dynamic equations are provided. These solutions are verified by performing calculations using the derived solutions and well known Runge-Kutta procedure to simulate the electron trajectories. The effects of self-fields on the FEL gain in this configuration are estimated. Numerical calculations indicate that in the presence of self-fields the sensitivity of the gain increases in the vicinity of resonance regions. Besides, diamagnetic and paramagnetic effects of the wiggler-induced self-magnetic field cause gain decrement and enhancement for different electron orbits, while these diamagnetic and paramagnetic effects increase with increasing beam density. The results are compared with findings of planar magnetostatic wiggler FELs.

Design and experimental tests of free electron laser wire scanners

SwissFEL is a x-rays free electron laser (FEL) driven by a 5.8 GeV linac under construction at Paul Scherrer Institut. In SwissFEL, wire scanners (WSCs) will be complementary to view-screens for emittance measurements and routinely used to monitor the transverse profile of the electron beam during FEL operations. The SwissFEL WSC is composed of an in-vacuum beam-probe---motorized by a stepper motor---and an out-vacuum pick-up of the wire signal. The mechanical stability of the WSC in-vacuum hardware has been characterized on a test bench. In particular, the motor induced vibrations of the wire have been measured and mapped for different motor speeds. Electron-beam tests of the entire WSC setup together with different wire materials have been carried out at the 250 MeV SwissFEL Injector Test Facility (SITF, Paul Scherrer Institut, CH) and at FERMI (Elettra-Sincrotrone Trieste, Italy). In particular, a comparative study of the relative measurement accuracy and the radiation-dose release of $\mathrm{Al}(99)\ensuremath{\mathbin:}\mathrm{Si}(1)$ and tungsten (W) wires has been carried out. On the basis of the outcome of the bench and electron-beam tests, the SwissFEL WSC can be qualified as a high resolution and machine-saving diagnostic tool in consideration of the mechanical stability of the scanning wire at the micrometer level and the choice of the wire material ensuring a drastic reduction of the radiation-dose release with respect to conventional metallic wires. The main aspects of the design, laboratory characterization and electron beam tests of the SwissFEL WSCs are presented.

Self-seeded FEL wavelength extension with high-gain harmonic generation

We study a self-seeded high-gain harmonic generation (HGHG) free-electron laser (FEL) scheme to extend the wavelength of a soft X-ray FEL. This scheme uses a regular self-seeding monochromator to generate a seed laser at the wavelength of 1.52 nm, followed by a HGHG configuration to produce coherent, narrow-bandwidth harmonic radiations at the GW level. The 2nd and 3rd harmonic radiation is investigated with start-to-end simulations. Detailed studies of the FEL performance and shot-to-shot fluctuations are presented.

RF design for the TOPGUN photogun: A cryogenic normal conducting copper electron gun

Recent studies of rf breakdown physics in cryogenic copper X-band accelerating structures have shown a dramatic increase in the operating gradient while maintaining low breakdown rates. The TOPGUN project, a collaboration between UCLA, SLAC, and INFN, will use this improvement in gradient to create an ultra-high brightness cryogenic normal conducting photoinjector [16]. The brightness is expected to be higher by a factor of 25 relative to the LCLS photogun [9]. This improvement in the brightness will lead to increased performance of X-Ray free electron lasers (FELs) and ultrafast electron diffraction devices [16]. We present the rf design for this S-band photogun, which will be a drop-in replacement for the current LCLS photogun.

A fully quantum theory of high-gain free-electron laser

The previous theory of high-gain free-electron laser (FEL) operating in the quantum regime is semiclassical because the electron dynamic is quantized but the radiation field is classically described. Here, we present for the first time a fully quantum-mechanical theory where also the field is quantized. We shall restrict to the FEL operation in the steady-state regime where the slippage length is much smaller than the bunch length. The results predicted by this theory are quite different from those of the semiclassical theory.

Design of sub-Angstrom compact free-electron laser source

In this paper, we propose for first time practical parameters to construct a compact sub-Angstrom Free Electron Laser (FEL) based on Compton backscattering. Our recipe is based on using picocoulomb electron bunch, enabling very low emittance and ultracold electron beam. We assume the FEL is operating in a quantum regime of Self Amplified Spontaneous Emission (SASE). The fundamental quantum feature is a significantly narrower spectrum of the emitted radiation relative to classical SASE. The quantum regime of the SASE FEL is reached when the momentum spread of the electron beam is smaller than the photon recoil momentum. Following the formulae describing SASE FEL operation, realistic designs for quantum FEL experiments are proposed. We discuss the practical constraints that influence the experimental parameters. Numerical simulations of power spectra and intensities are presented and attractive radiation characteristics such as high flux, narrow linewidth, and short pulse structure are demonstrated.

Storage ring two-color free-electron laser

We report a systematic experimental study of a storage ring two-color free-electron laser (FEL) operating simultaneously in the infrared (IR) and ultraviolet (UV) wavelength regions. The two-color FEL lasing has been realized using a pair of dual-band high-reflectivity FEL mirrors with two different undulator configurations. We have demonstrated independent wavelength tuning in a wide range for each lasing color, as well as harmonically locked wavelength tuning when the UV lasing occurs at the second harmonic of the IR lasing. Precise power control of two-color lasing with good power stability has also been achieved. In addition, the impact of the degradation of FEL mirrors on the two-color FEL operation is reported. Furthermore, we have investigated the temporal structures of the two-color FEL beams, showing simultaneous two-color micropulses with their intensity modulations displayed as FEL macropulses.

Seeded free electron laser operating with two colors: Comments on experimental results

Free electron lasers operating with two colors are promising devices for applications. The relevant modelization has provided a good understanding of the underlying physics. In this paper we present an analysis of the experimental results obtained at SPARC_LAB concerning seeded two-colors free electron laser (FEL) operation. The use of an ad hoc developed semi-analytical model based on the small-signal FEL integral equation reproduces most of the observed phenomenology. The paper discusses the reliability of the proposed method, the range of validity and its possible improvement.

First observation of SASE radiation using the compact wide-spectral-range XUV spectrometer at FLASH2

The Free-electron LASer in Hamburg (FLASH) has been extended with a new undulator line FLASH2 in 2014. A compact grazing-incident wide-spectral-range spectrometer based on spherical-variable-line-spacing (SVLS) gratings in the extreme ultraviolet (XUV) region was constructed to optimize and characterize the free-electron laser (FEL) performance at FLASH2. The spectrometer is equipped with three different concave SVLS gratings covering a spectral range from 1 to 62nm to analyze the spectral characteristics of the XUV radiation. Wavelength calibration and evaluation of the spectral resolution were performed at the plane grating monochromator beamline PG2 at FLASH1 before the installation at FLASH2, and compared with analytical simulations. The first light using self-amplified spontaneous emission from FLASH2 was observed by the spectrometer during a simultaneous operation of both undulator lines—FLASH1 and FLASH2. In addition, the spectral resolution of the spectrometer was evaluated by comparing the measured spectrum from FLASH2 with FEL simulations.

Two-color operation of a free-electron laser with a tilted beam.

With the successful operation of free-electron lasers (FELs) as user facilities there has been a growing demand for experiments with two photon pulses with variable photon energy and time separation. A configuration of an undulator with variable-gap control and a delaying chicane in the middle of the beamline is proposed. An injected electron beam with a transverse tilt will only yield FEL radiation for the parts which are close to the undulator axis. This allows, after re-aligning and delaying the electron beam, a different part of the bunch to be used to produce a second FEL pulse. This method offers independent control in photon energy and delay. For the parameters of the soft X-ray beamline Athos at the SwissFEL facility the photon energy tuning range is a factor of five with an adjustable delay between the two pulses from -50 to 950 fs.

Numerical modeling of thermal loading of diamond crystal in X-ray FEL oscillators**Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (11175240, 11205234, 11322550) and Program for Changjiang Scholars and Innovative Research Team in University (IRT1280)

Due to high reflectivity and high resolution of X-ray pulses, diamond is one of the most popular Bragg crystals serving as the reflecting mirror and mono–chromator in the next generation of free electron lasers (FELs). The energy deposition of X-rays will result in thermal heating, and thus lattice expansion of the diamond crystal, which may degrade the performance of X-ray FELs. In this paper, the thermal loading effect of diamond crystal for X-ray FEL oscillators has been systematically studied by combined simulation with Geant4 and ANSYS, and its dependence on the environmental temperature, crystal size, X-ray pulse repetition rate and pulse energy are presented. Our results show that taking the thermal loading effects into account, X-ray FEL oscillators are still robust and promising with an optimized design.

The LLRF System for the S-Band RF Plants of the FERMI Linac

Specifications on electron beam quality for the operation of a linac-based free-electron laser (FEL), as FERMI in Trieste (Italy), impose stringent requirements on the stability of the electromagnetic fields of the accelerating sections. These specifications can be met only with state-of-the-art low-level RF (LLRF) systems based on advanced digital technologies. Design considerations, construction, and performance results of the FERMI digital LLRF are presented in this paper. The stability requirements derived by simulations are better than 0.1% in amplitude and 0.1 $^\circ $ S-band in phase. The system installed in the FERMI Linac S-band RF plants has met these specifications and is in operation on a 24-h basis as a user facility. Capabilities of the system allow planning for new developments that are also described here.

The LCLS variable-energy hard X-ray single-shot spectrometer

The engineering design, implementation, operation and performance of the new variable-energy hard X-ray single-shot spectrometer (HXSSS) for the LCLS free-electron laser (FEL) are reported. The HXSSS system is based on a cylindrically bent Si thin crystal for dispersing the incident polychromatic FEL beam. A spatially resolved detector system consisting of a Ce:YAG X-ray scintillator screen, an optical imaging system and a low-noise pixelated optical camera is used to record the spectrograph. The HXSSS provides single-shot spectrum measurements for users whose experiments depend critically on the knowledge of the self-amplified spontaneous emission FEL spectrum. It also helps accelerator physicists for the continuing studies and optimization of self-seeding, various improved mechanisms for lasing mechanisms, and FEL performance improvements. The designed operating energy range of the HXSSS is from 4 to 20 keV, with the spectral range of order larger than 2% and a spectral resolution of 2 × 10(-5) or better. Those performance goals have all been achieved during the commissioning of the HXSSS.

Low emittance injector design for free electron lasers

Several parameters determine the performance of free electron lasers: the slice and the projected emittance, the slice energy spread, and the peak current are the most crucial ones. The peak current is essentially obtained by magnetic compression stages along the machine or occasionally assisted by velocity bunching at low energy. The minimum emittance and the alignment of the slices along the bunch are mainly determined in the low energy part of the accelerator (injector). Variations at the per-mille level of several parameters in this section of the machine strongly influence these quantities with highly nonlinear dynamic. We developed a numerical tool to perform the optimization of the injector. We applied this code to optimize the SwissFEL injector, assuming different gun designs, initial bunch lengths and intrinsic emittances. We obtained an emittance along the bunch of 0.14 mm mrad and around 0.08 mm mrad for the maximum and the minimum SwissFEL charges (200 and 10 pC, respectively). We applied the same tool to a running injector, where we automatized the optimization of the machine.

Multicolor High-Gain Free-Electron Laser Driven by Seeded Microbunching Instability.

Laser-heater systems are essential tools to control and optimize high-gain free-electron lasers (FELs) working in the x-ray wavelength range. Indeed, these systems induce a controllable increase of the energy spread of the electron bunch. The heating suppresses longitudinal microbunching instability which otherwise would limit the FEL performance. Here, we demonstrate that, through the action of the microbunching instability, a long-wavelength modulation of the electron beam induced by the laser heater at low energy can persist until the beam entrance into the undulators. This coherent longitudinal modulation is exploited to control the FEL spectral properties, in particular, multicolor extreme-ultraviolet FEL pulses can be generated through a frequency mixing of the modulations produced by the laser heater and the seed laser in the electron beam. We present an experimental demonstration of this novel configuration carried out at the FERMI FEL.