Comparison of beam bunching in amplifier and SASE modes at the CEA-CESTA free-electron laser

In previous studies of bunching we operated our 2.2 MeV, 800 A single shot FEL in the amplifier mode, and observed output power and bunching not only at the injected frequency of 35 GHz but also at the second-FEL resonant frequency near 3 GHz. In order to study the mechanism of the low-frequency bunching we have performed a series of measurements in SASE mode. Here we compare and contrast results obtained in these two modes. For both modes a detailed study of the formation of the low-frequency bunches during the pulse has been performed using a streak camera, as a function of both position in the wiggler and time in the pulse. Analysis of the images shows that despite the great difference in output power, the strong bunching we see is quite similar. In the amplifier mode the coexistence of the bunching at high frequency masks some of the details of the low-frequency bunch formation, whereas in the SASE mode the temporal and spatial behavior of bunching at 3 GHz is clearly seen.