Ivan Cudin

Highly coherent and stable pulses from the FERMI seeded free-electron laser in the extreme ultraviolet

Researchers demonstrate the FERMI free-electron laser operating in the high-gain harmonic generation regime, allowing high stability, transverse and longitudinal coherence and polarization control.

Characterization of the FERMI@Elettra's on-line photon energy spectrometer

FERMI@Elettra is a Free Electron Laser (FEL) under commissioning at Sincrotrone Trieste. It will provide an almost fully coherent and transform limited radiation with a very high brilliance in the VUV/Soft X-ray range. This article describes the working principles of the Variable Line Spacing diffraction gratings applied to the photon energy spectrometer as well as the design concept, ray tracing and efficiency simulations. Metrological results at various spatial frequencies of the optics involved and the first characterization results with FEL radiation will be shown.

Chirped pulse amplification in an extreme-ultraviolet free-electron laser

Chirped pulse amplification in optical lasers is a revolutionary technique, which allows the generation of extremely powerful femtosecond pulses in the infrared and visible spectral ranges. Such pulses are nowadays an indispensable tool for a myriad of applications, both in fundamental and applied research. In recent years, a strong need emerged for light sources producing ultra-short and intense laser-like X-ray pulses, to be used for experiments in a variety of disciplines, ranging from physics and chemistry to biology and material sciences. This demand was satisfied by the advent of short-wavelength free-electron lasers. However, for any given free-electron laser setup, a limit presently exists in the generation of ultra-short pulses carrying substantial energy. Here we present the experimental implementation of chirped pulse amplification on a seeded free-electron laser in the extreme-ultraviolet, paving the way to the generation of fully coherent sub-femtosecond gigawatt pulses in the water window (2.3–4.4 nm).

First results from the commissioning of the FERMI@Elettra free electron laser by means of the Photon Analysis Delivery and Reduction System (PADReS)

The Italian Free Electron Laser (FEL) facility FERMI@Elettra has started to produce photon radiation at the end of 2010. The photon beam is presently delivered by the first undulator chain (FEL1) that is supposed to produce photons in the 100-20 nm wavelength range. A second undulator chain (FEL2) will be commissioned at the end of 2011, and it will produce radiation in the 20-4nm range. The Photon Analysis Delivery and Reduction System (PADReS) was designed to collect the radiation coming from both the undulator chains (FEL1 and FEL2), to characterize and control it, and to redirect it towards the following beamlines. The first parameters that are checked are the pulse-resolved intensity and beam position. For each of these parameters two dedicated monitors are installed along PADReS on each FEL line. In this way it possible to determine the intensity reduction that is realized by the gas reduction system, which is capable of cutting the intensity by up to four orders of magnitude. The energy distribution of each single pulse is characterized by an online spectrometer installed in the experimental hall. Taking advantage of a variable line-spacing grating it can direct the almost-full beam to the beamlines, while it uses a small fraction of the beam itself to determine the spectral distribution of each pulse delivered by the FEL. The first light of FERMI@Elettra, delivered to the PADReS section in late 2010, is used for the first commissioning runs and some preliminary experiments whose results are reported and discussed in detail.

Passive Linearization of the Magnetic Bunch Compression Using Self-Induced Fields

In linac-driven free-electron lasers, colliders, and energy recovery linacs, a common way to compress the electron bunch to kiloampere level is based upon the implementation of a magnetic dispersive element that converts particle energy deviation into a path-length difference. Nonlinearities of such a process are usually compensated by enabling a high harmonic rf structure properly tuned in amplitude and phase. This approach is however not straightforward, e.g., in C-band and X-band linacs. In this Letter we demonstrate that the longitudinal self-induced field excited by the electron beam itself is able to linearize the compression process without any use of high harmonic rf structure. The method is implemented at the FERMI linac, with the resulting high quality beam used to drive the seeded free-electron laser during user experiments.

Status and achievements at FERMI@Elettra: the first double cascade seeded EUV-SXR FEL facility open to users

FERMI@Elettra is the first seeded VUV/soft X-ray FEL source. It is composed of two undulatory chains: the low energy branch (FELl) covering the wavelength range from 20 nm up to 100 nm, and the high energy branch (FEL2, employing a double stage cascade), covering the wavelength range from 4 nm up to 20 nm. At the end of 2012 FELl has been opened to external users while FEL2 has been turned on for the first time having demonstrated that a double cascade scheme is suitable for generating high intensity coherent FEL radiation. In this paper we will share our experience and will show our most recent results for both FERMI FELl and FEL2 sources. We will also present a brand new machine scheme that allows to perform two-colour pump and probe experiments as well as the first experimental results.

The FERMI seeded-FEL facility: Status and perspectives

The FERMI Free Electron Laser (FEL) in Trieste, Italy operates in the extreme ultraviolet and soft x rays (EUV-SXR) wavelength range delivering high-fluence, stable, ultra-short pulses. Its unique design based on a seeded scheme and on tunable undulators allows unprecedented control of pulse parameters such as wavelength, phase, polarization, synchronization, pulse duration and implementation of multi-color FEL schemes. Both FEL-1 and FEL-2 lines with nominal wavelength range 100–20 nm and 20–4 nm, respectively, are open to users. We report on the unique features of FERMI, in particular those that have evolved beyond the original design, and on their application to pioneering experiments. We also present the upgrades that are planned to further expand the capabilities of this unique light source.

Coherent THz Emission Enhanced by Coherent Synchrotron Radiation Wakefield

We demonstrate that emission of coherent transition radiation by a ∼1 GeV energy-electron beam passing through an Al foil is enhanced in intensity and extended in frequency spectral range, by the energy correlation established along the beam by coherent synchrotron radiation wakefield, in the presence of a proper electron optics in the beam delivery system. Analytical and numerical models, based on experimental electron beam parameters collected at the FERMI free electron laser (FEL), predict transition radiation with two intensity peaks at ∼0.3 THz and ∼1.5 THz, and extending up to 8.5 THz with intensity above 20 dB w.r.t. the main peak. Up to 80-µJ pulse energy integrated over the full bandwidth is expected at the source, and in agreement with experimental pulse energy measurements. By virtue of its implementation in an FEL beam dump line, this work promises dissemination of user-oriented multi-THz beamlines parasitic and self-synchronized to EUV and x-ray FELs.