Femtosecond X-ray pulses from a frequency-chirped SASE FEL

We discuss the temporal and spectral properties of self-amplified spontaneous emission (SASE) utilizing an energy-chirped electron beam. A short temporal pulse is generated by using a monochromator to select a narrow radiation bandwidth from the frequency-chirped SASE. For the filtered radiation, the minimum pulse length is limited by the intrinsic SASE bandwidth, while the number of modes and the energy fluctuation can be controlled through the monochromator bandwidth. Two cases are considered: (1) placing the monochromator at the end of a single long undulator; (2) placing the monochromator after an initial undulator and amplifying the short-duration output in a second undulator. We analyze these cases and show that tens of femtosecond X-ray pulses may be generated for the linac coherent light source.