Generation of Femtosecond Synchrotron Pulses: Performance and Characterization.

Femtosecond synchrotron pulses of <200 fs duration are generated at the Advanced Light Source beamline 5.3.1 via laser manipulation of the stored electron beam. We demonstrate a peak laser acceleration of >13 MeV relative to the nominal 1.9 GeV beam energy. Femtosecond pulses are effectively isolated from the long-pulse background using the transverse dispersion of the storage ring in combination with an x-ray imaging optic and a pair of slits to achieve a signal/background ratio of ∼1. © 2004 American Institute of Physics [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]