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A photonic free-electron laser (pFEL) produces coherent Cerenkov radiation from a set of parallel electron beams streaming through a photonic crystal. The function of the crystal is to slow down the phase velocity of a copropagating electromagnetic wave, such that also mildly relativistic electrons (of about 10-keV energy) can emit coherent Cerenkov radiation. Starting from spontaneous emission, the feedback of the radiation on the electrons results in bunching of the electrons on the scale of the radiation wavelength, and consequently, coherent radiation can build up. The frequency of the coherent mode is set by the electron velocity and wave dispersion of the photonic crystal and can, a priori, be continuously varied by varying the electron energy. The scale invariance of Maxwell's equation allows operation from Gigahertz to Terahertz and possible infrared (IR) frequencies without the need to increase the electron beam energy. Therefore, the pFEL is a very attractive, compact, and coherent radiation source that has the potential to significantly enhance the power available in the THz domain.

Free-electron lasers have been designed to operate over virtually the entire electromagnetic spectrum from microwaves through x rays and in a variety of configurations including amplifiers and oscillators. Oscillators typically operate in the low-gain regime where the full spectral width is (Δω/ω)≈1/N_{w} and the efficiency η≈1/(2.4N_{w}). Further, since a low-gain oscillator saturates when the gain compensates for losses in the resonator G=L/(1-L), this implies that the losses must be relatively small and the cavity Q must be relatively large. This imposes problems for high power oscillators because the high Q can result in mirror loading above the damage threshold, and in short-wavelength oscillators because sufficiently low loss resonators may not be possible at x-ray wavelengths. In contrast, regenerative amplifier FELs (RAFELs) employ high-gain wigglers that reach exponential gain and can operate with high loss (i.e., low Q) resonators. As such, RAFELs may be able to function at either high power levels or short wavelengths. In this paper, we describe a three-dimensional, time-dependent simulation of a RAFEL operating at a 2.2-μm wavelength, and show that its behavior differs substantially from that of low-gain oscillators, and is closer to that of self-amplified spontaneous radiation FELs in regard to spectral linewidth and extraction efficiency.

Phase shifts in the propagating electromagnetic field of a Cherenkov free-electron laser (CFEL) can affect its gain. The phase velocity of an electromagnetic wave varies, for example, when the lined waveguide is inhomogeneous along its length. In this paper, we study quantitatively the saturated power of a particular CFEL at both weak and strong electron-beam pumping when the inner radius of the liner contains fluctuations along the waveguide. We show that the gain bandwidth of the CFEL is substantially broadened when the CFEL is pumped with a high-current beam. We also show that the design of a CFEL needs to include optimization with respect to sensitivity to liner fluctuations, especially for weakly pumped CFELs, that is, CFELs that use a low-current electron-beam density. This optimization can be relaxed for more strongly pumped CFELs.

We investigate high-order harmonic generation (HHG) from noble gas clusters in a supersonic gas jet. To identify the contribution of harmonic generation from clusters versus that from gas monomers, we measure the high-order harmonic output over a broad range of the total atomic number density in the jet (from 3×1016 to 3 × 1018 ) at two different reservoir temperatures (303 and 363 K). For the first time in the evaluation of the harmonic yield in such measurements, the variation of the liquid mass fraction, g, versus pressure and temperature is taken into consideration, which we determine, reliably and consistently, to be below 20% within our range of experimental parameters. By comparing the measured harmonic yield from a thin jet with the calculated corresponding yield from monomers alone, we find an increased emission of the harmonics when the average cluster size is less than 3000. Using g, under the assumption that the emission from monomers and clusters add up coherently, we calculate the ratio of the average single-atom response of an atom within a cluster to that of a monomer and find an enhancement of around 100 for very small average cluster size (∼200). We do not find any dependence of the cut-off frequency on the composition of the cluster jet. This implies that HHG in clusters is based on electrons that return to their parent ions and not to neighboring ions in the cluster. To fully employ the enhanced average single-atom response found for small average cluster sizes (∼200), the nozzle producing the cluster jet must provide a large liquid mass fraction at these small cluster sizes for increasing the harmonic yield. Moreover, cluster jets may allow for quasi-phase matching, as the higher mass of clusters allows for a higher density contrast in spatially structuring the nonlinear medium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Free-electron lasers (FELs) have been built ranging in wavelength from long-wavelength oscillators using partial wave guiding through ultraviolet through hard x-ray that are either seeded or start from noise. In addition, FELs that produce different polarizations of the output radiation ranging from linear through elliptic to circular polarization are currently under study. In this paper, we develop a three-dimensional, time-dependent formulation that is capable of modeling this large variety of FEL configurations including different polarizations. We employ a modal expansion for the optical field, i.e., a Gaussian expansion with variable polarization for free-space propagation. This formulation uses the full Newton–Lorentz force equations to track the particles through the optical and magnetostatic fields. As a result, arbitrary three-dimensional representations for different undulator configurations are implemented, including planar, helical, and elliptical undulators. In particular, we present an analytic model of an APPLE-II undulator to treat arbitrary elliptical polarizations, which is used to treat general elliptical polarizations. To model oscillator configurations, and allow propagation of the optical field outside the undulator and interact with optical elements, we link the FEL simulation with the optical propagation code OPC. We present simulations using the APPLE-II undulator model to produce elliptically polarized output radiation, and present a detailed comparison with recent experiments using a tapered undulator configuration at the Linac Coherent Light Source. Validation of the nonlinear formation is also shown by comparison with experimental results obtained in the Sorgente Pulsata Auto-amplificata di Radiazione Coerente SASE FEL experiment at ENEA Frascati, a seeded tapered amplifier experiment at Brookhaven National Laboratory, and the 10 kW upgrade oscillator experiment at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Free-electron lasers (FELs) operate at wavelengths from millimeter waves through hard x-rays. At x-ray wavelengths, FELs typically rely on self-amplified spontaneous emission (SASE). Typical SASE emission contains multiple temporal ‘spikes’ which limit the longitudinal coherence of the optical output; hence, alternate schemes that improve on the longitudinal coherence of the SASE emission are of interest. In this paper, we consider electron bunches that are shorter than the SASE spike separation. In such cases, the spontaneously generated radiation consists of a single optical pulse with better longitudinal coherence than is found in typical SASE FELs. To investigate this regime, we use two FEL simulation codes. One (MINERVA) uses the slowly-varying envelope approximation (SVEA) which breaks down for extremely short pulses. The second (PUFFIN) is a particle-in-cell simulation code that is considered to be a more complete model of the underlying physics and which is able to simulate very short pulses. We first anchor these codes by showing that there is substantial agreement between the codes in simulation of the SPARC SASE FEL experiment at ENEA Frascati. We then compare the two codes for simulations using electron bunch lengths that are shorter than the SASE slice separation. The comparisons between the two codes for short bunch simulations elucidate the limitations of the SVEA in this regime but indicate that the SVEA can treat short bunches that are comparable to the cooperation length.

X-ray free-electron lasers (FELs) rely on SASE due to the lack of seed lasers and the difficulty in obtaining mirrors. Progress in diamond crystal Bragg mirrors enables the design of x-ray FEL oscillators. Regenerative amplifiers (RAFELs) are high gain/low- Q oscillators that out-couple most of the optical power. An x-ray RAFEL based on the LCLS-II at SLAC using a six-mirror resonator out-coupling 90% or more through a pinhole in the first downstream mirror is analyzed using the MINERVA simulation in the undulator and OPC for the resonator. Results show substantial powers at the fundamental (3.05 keV) and 3rd harmonic (9.15 keV).

The resolution in x-ray coherent diffractive imaging applications can be improved by increasing the number of photons in the optical pulse. An x-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) producing pulses with terawatt (TW) peak power and about 10 femtosecond duration can satisfy this requirement. In this paper, we consider the conditions necessary for achieving powers in excess of 1 TW in a 1.5 Å FEL. Using the MINERVA simulation code, an extensive steady-state analysis has been conducted using a variety of undulator and focusing configurations. In particular, strong focusing using FODO lattices is compared with the natural, weak focusing inherent in helical undulators. It is found that the most important requirement to reach TW powers is extreme transverse compression of the electron beam in a strong FODO lattice in conjunction with a tapered undulator. We find that when the current density reaches extremely high levels, that the characteristic growth length in the tapered undulator becomes shorter than the Rayleigh range giving rise to optical guiding. We also show that planar undulators can reach near-TW power levels. In addition, preliminary time-dependent simulations are also discussed and show that TW power levels can be achieved both for self-seeding and pure self-amplified spontaneous emission. This result shows that high-resolution, single molecule diffractive imaging may be realized using XFELs.