Author
Thierry Zamofing
Bio: Thierry Zamofing is an academic researcher from Paul Scherrer Institute. The author has contributed to research in topics: Ultrashort pulse & Free-electron laser. The author has an hindex of 2, co-authored 4 publications receiving 241 citations.
Topics: Ultrashort pulse, Free-electron laser, Undulator, Software, Laser
Papers
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TL;DR: The SwissFEL X-ray Free Electron Laser (XFEL) facility as discussed by the authors started construction at the Paul Scherrer Institute (Villigen, Switzerland) in 2013 and will be ready to accept its first users in 2018 on the Aramis hard Xray branch.
Abstract: The SwissFEL X-ray Free Electron Laser (XFEL) facility started construction at the Paul Scherrer Institute (Villigen, Switzerland) in 2013 and will be ready to accept its first users in 2018 on the Aramis hard X-ray branch. In the following sections we will summarize the various aspects of the project, including the design of the soft and hard X-ray branches of the accelerator, the results of SwissFEL performance simulations, details of the photon beamlines and experimental stations, and our first commissioning results.
295 citations
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TL;DR: The Bernina instrument at SwissFEL Aramis employs laser-pump and X-ray-probe techniques to selectively excite and probe the electronic, magnetic and structural dynamics in condensed matter systems on the femtosecond time scale and under extreme conditions.
Abstract: The Bernina instrument at the SwissFEL Aramis hard X-ray free-electron laser is designed for studying ultrafast phenomena in condensed matter and material science. Ultrashort pulses from an optical laser system covering a large wavelength range can be used to generate specific non-equilibrium states, whose subsequent temporal evolution can be probed by selective X-ray scattering techniques in the range 2–12 keV. For that purpose, the X-ray beamline is equipped with optical elements which tailor the X-ray beam size and energy, as well as with pulse-to-pulse diagnostics that monitor the X-ray pulse intensity, position, as well as its spectral and temporal properties. The experiments can be performed using multiple interchangeable endstations differing in specialization, diffractometer and X-ray analyser configuration and load capacity for specialized sample environment. After testing the instrument in a series of pilot experiments in 2018, regular user operation begins in 2019.
24 citations
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01 Jan 2018
TL;DR: The current status of the control system is presented together with some lessons learned for the next generation free electron laser facility in Switzerland.
Abstract: SwissFEL is a new free electron laser facility at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) in Switzerland. Commissioning started in 2016 and resulted in first lasing in December 2016 (albeit not on the design energy). In 2017, the commissioning continued and will result in the first pilot experiments at the end of the year. The close interaction of experiment and accelerator components as well as the pulsed electron beam required a well thought out integration of the control system including some new concepts and layouts. This paper presents the current status of the control system together with some lessons learned.
2 citations
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01 Dec 2015
TL;DR: An overview of the project will be presented and the different HW and SW solutions based on the experience gained from preliminary implementations at other facilities of PSI will be explained and first results of the HW commissioning at the SwissFEL will be reported.
Abstract: Recently, the installation of the components for the free electron laser SwissFEL has started at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI). In March 2016, beginning of the injector commissioning is planned and first lasing is foreseen a year later. New hardware, like VME64x-boards (IFC 1210, an P2020 based intelligent FPGA controller from IOxOS) and -crates (Trenew), timing system (from MRF with advanced features), motion controllers (Power PMAC from Delta Tau, and MDrive from Schneider), among others, as well as modern field buses, pose great challenges to the controls team. The close interaction of machineand experiment-components require advanced software concepts for data-acquisition, -distribution, and archiving. An overview of the project will be presented and the different HW and SW solutions based on the experience gained from preliminary implementations at other facilities of PSI will be explained. First results of the HW commissioning at the SwissFEL will be reported.
1 citations
Cited by
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University of Bern1, Coherent, Inc.2, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory3, University of Kassel4, University of Hamburg5, Technische Universität München6, European XFEL7, University of Gothenburg8, University of Colorado Boulder9, Donostia International Physics Center10, Ikerbasque11, University of the Basque Country12, Moscow State University13, Max Planck Society14, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich15
TL;DR: In this article, the time-energy information of ultrashort X-ray free-electron laser pulses generated by the Linac Coherent Light Source is measured with attosecond resolution via angular streaking of neon 1s photoelectrons.
Abstract: The time–energy information of ultrashort X-ray free-electron laser pulses generated by the Linac Coherent Light Source is measured with attosecond resolution via angular streaking of neon 1s photoelectrons. The X-ray pulses promote electrons from the neon core level into an ionization continuum, where they are dressed with the electric field of a circularly polarized infrared laser. This induces characteristic modulations of the resulting photoelectron energy and angular distribution. From these modulations we recover the single-shot attosecond intensity structure and chirp of arbitrary X-ray pulses based on self-amplified spontaneous emission, which have eluded direct measurement so far. We characterize individual attosecond pulses, including their instantaneous frequency, and identify double pulses with well-defined delays and spectral properties, thus paving the way for X-ray pump/X-ray probe attosecond free-electron laser science.
144 citations
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TL;DR: In this article, the first lasing results of SwissFEL, a hard X-ray free-electron laser (FEL) that recently came into operation at the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland, were presented.
Abstract: We present the first lasing results of SwissFEL, a hard X-ray free-electron laser (FEL) that recently came into operation at the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland. SwissFEL is a very stable, compact and cost-effective X-ray FEL facility driven by a low-energy and ultra-low-emittance electron beam travelling through short-period undulators. It delivers stable hard X-ray FEL radiation at 1-A wavelength with pulse energies of more than 500 μJ, pulse durations of ~30 fs (root mean square) and spectral bandwidth below the per-mil level. Using special configurations, we have produced pulses shorter than 1 fs and, in a different set-up, broadband radiation with an unprecedented bandwidth of ~2%. The extremely small emittance demonstrated at SwissFEL paves the way for even more compact and affordable hard X-ray FELs, potentially boosting the number of facilities worldwide and thereby expanding the population of the scientific community that has access to X-ray FEL radiation. The first lasing results at SwissFEL, an X-ray free-electron laser, are presented, highlighting the facility’s unique capabilities. A general comparison to other major facilities is also provided.
118 citations
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TL;DR: Crystallographic ‘snapshots’ taken at intervals of femtoseconds to milliseconds after activation show how a light-activated sodium pump carries sodium ions across the cell membrane and provide direct molecular insight into the dynamics of active cation transport across biological membranes.
Abstract: Light-driven sodium pumps actively transport small cations across cellular membranes1. These pumps are used by microorganisms to convert light into membrane potential and have become useful optogenetic tools with applications in neuroscience. Although the resting state structures of the prototypical sodium pump Krokinobacter eikastus rhodopsin 2 (KR2) have been solved2,3, it is unclear how structural alterations over time allow sodium to be translocated against a concentration gradient. Here, using the Swiss X-ray Free Electron Laser4, we have collected serial crystallographic data at ten pump-probe delays from femtoseconds to milliseconds. High-resolution structural snapshots throughout the KR2 photocycle show how retinal isomerization is completed on the femtosecond timescale and changes the local structure of the binding pocket in the early nanoseconds. Subsequent rearrangements and deprotonation of the retinal Schiff base open an electrostatic gate in microseconds. Structural and spectroscopic data, in combination with quantum chemical calculations, indicate that a sodium ion binds transiently close to the retinal within one millisecond. In the last structural intermediate, at 20 milliseconds after activation, we identified a potential second sodium-binding site close to the extracellular exit. These results provide direct molecular insight into the dynamics of active cation transport across biological membranes.
94 citations
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TL;DR: The Free-Electron Laser at DESY (FLASH) as discussed by the authors was the first FEL in the XUV/soft X-ray spectral range, and was for almost 5 years the only short wavelength FEL facility worldwide.
93 citations
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TL;DR: Measurement of ultrafast electronic and structural dynamics with X-rays: powerful new approaches for unravelling the coupling between electronic and atomic structural dynamics that underpin the properties and function of matter.
Abstract: Over more than a century, X-rays have transformed our understanding of the fundamental structure of matter and have been an indispensable tool for chemistry, physics, biology, materials science and related fields. Recent advances in ultrafast X-ray sources operating in the femtosecond to attosecond regimes have opened an important new frontier in X-ray science. These advances now enable: (i) sensitive probing of structural dynamics in matter on the fundamental timescales of atomic motion, (ii) element-specific probing of electronic structure and charge dynamics on fundamental timescales of electronic motion, and (iii) powerful new approaches for unravelling the coupling between electronic and atomic structural dynamics that underpin the properties and function of matter. Most notable is the recent realization of X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs) with numerous new XFEL facilities in operation or under development worldwide. Advances in XFELs are complemented by advances in synchrotron-based and table-top laser-plasma X-ray sources now operating in the femtosecond regime, and laser-based high-order harmonic XUV sources operating in the attosecond regime. This article is part of the theme issue 'Measurement of ultrafast electronic and structural dynamics with X-rays'.
84 citations