The Linac Coherent Light Source free-electron laser has now achieved coherent X-ray generation down to a wavelength of 1.2 A and at a brightness that is nearly ten orders of magnitude higher than conventional synchrotrons. Researchers detail the first operation and beam characteristics of the system, which give hope for imaging at atomic spatial and temporal scales.

First lasing and operation of an ångstrom-wavelength free-electron laser

We report results on the performance of a free-electron laser operating at a wavelength of 13.7 nm where unprecedented peak and average powers for a coherent extreme-ultraviolet radiation source have been measured. In the saturation regime, the peak energy approached 170 J for individual pulses, and the average energy per pulse reached 70 J. The pulse duration was in the region of 10 fs, and peak powers of 10 GW were achieved. At a pulse repetition frequency of 700 pulses per second, the average extreme-ultraviolet power reached 20 mW. The output beam also contained a significant contribution from odd harmonics of approximately 0.6% and 0.03% for the 3rd (4.6 nm) and the 5th (2.75 nm) harmonics, respectively. At 2.75 nm the 5th harmonic of the radiation reaches deep into the water window, a wavelength range that is crucially important for the investigation of biological samples.

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Operation of a free-electron laser from the extreme ultraviolet to the water window

Relativistic interaction of short-pulse lasers with underdense plasmas has recently led to the emergence of a novel generation of femtosecond x-ray sources. Based on radiation from electrons accelerated in plasma, these sources have the common properties to be compact and to deliver collimated, incoherent, and femtosecond radiation. In this article, within a unified formalism, the betatron radiation of trapped and accelerated electrons in the so-called bubble regime, the synchrotron radiation of laser-accelerated electrons in usual meter-scale undulators, the nonlinear Thomson scattering from relativistic electrons oscillating in an intense laser field, and the Thomson backscattered radiation of a laser beam by laser-accelerated electrons are reviewed. The underlying physics is presented using ideal models, the relevant parameters are defined, and analytical expressions providing the features of the sources are given. Numerical simulations and a summary of recent experimental results on the different mechanisms are also presented. Each section ends with the foreseen development of each scheme. Finally, one of the most promising applications of laser-plasma accelerators is discussed: the realization of a compact free-electron laser in the x-ray range of the spectrum. In the conclusion, the relevant parameters characterizing each sources are summarized. Considering typical laser-plasma interaction parameters obtained with currently available lasers, examples of the source features are given. The sources are then compared to each other in order to define their field of applications.

https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01164031/document

Femtosecond x rays from laser-plasma accelerators

The following topics are dealt with: TTF/FLASH in the XFEL context, general layout of the XFEL facility, the XFEL accelerator, undulators for SAES and spontaneous emission, photon beamlines and scientific instruments, infrastructure and auxiliary systems, commissioning and operation, project management and organization, cost and time schedule. (HSI)

XFEL: The European X-Ray Free-Electron Laser - Technical Design Report

Femtosecond-scale synchronization using mode-locked lasers has been limited to periods of just a few minutes. Now it is shown that, by combining a number of laser techniques, sub-10-fs-precision synchronization of remote lasers and microwave sources is possible for more than 10 hours.

Drift-free femtosecond timing synchronization of remote optical and microwave sources

The Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, in collaboration with Argonne National Laboratory, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and the University of California at Los Angeles, have collaborated to create a conceptual design for a Free-Electron-Laser (FEL) R&D facility operating in the wavelength range 1.5-15 {angstrom}. This FEL, called the ''Linac Coherent Light Source'' (LCLS), utilizes the SLAC linac and produces sub-picosecond pulses of short wavelength x-rays with very high peak brightness and full transverse coherence. The first two-thirds of the SLAC linac are used for injection into the PEP-II storage rings. The last one-third will be converted to a source of electrons for the LCLS. The electrons will be transported to the SLAC Final Focus Test Beam (FFTB) Facility, which will be extended to house a 122-m undulator system. In passing through the undulators, the electrons will be bunched by the force of their own synchrotron radiation to produce an intense, spatially coherent beam of x-rays, tunable in energy from 0.8 keV to 8 keV. The LCLS will include two experiment halls as well as x-ray optics and infrastructure necessary to make use of this x-ray beam for research in a variety of disciplines suchmore » as atomic physics, materials science, plasma physics and biosciences. This Conceptual Design Report, the authors believe, confirms the feasibility of constructing an x-ray FEL based on the SLAC linac.« less

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A. Wootton

Papers

Linac coherent light source (LCLS) conceptual design report