Compton backscattering of free-electron laser photons and generation of high-energy monochromatic photon fluxes

The use of the technique of Compton backscattering of X-ray free-electron laser (FEL) photons allows the generation of a high-energy gamma-ray beam. The analysis considers two configurations for backscattering. In one configuration, the electron-beam provided by the linac is split. One part generates the FEL radiation, while the other bends to backscatter the laser beam. The second configuration uses electrons of a storage ring to backscatter the X-ray photons. The method can yield quasi-monochromatic beams with energy up to 5 GeV and a high photon counting rate.