Start-to-end simulations of SASE FEL at the TESLA Test Facility, phase 1

Phase 1 of the vacuum ultra-violet free-electron laser (FEL) at the TESLA Test Facility recently concluded operation. It successfully demonstrated the saturation of a SASE FEL in the wavelength range of 80–120 nm. We present a posteriori start-to-end numerical simulations of this FEL. These simulations are based on the programs Astra and elegant for the generation and transport of the electron distribution. An independent simulation of the intricate beam dynamics in the magnetic bunch compressor is performed with the program CSRtrack. The SASE FEL process is simulated with the code FAST. From our detailed simulations and the resulting phase space distribution at the undulator entrance, we found that the FEL was driven only by a small fraction (slice) of the electron bunch. This “lasing slice” is located in the head of the bunch, and has a peak current of approximately 3 kA. A strong energy chirp (due to the space charge field after compression) within this slice had a significant influence on the FEL operation. Our study shows that the radiation pulse duration is about 40 fs (FWHM) with a corresponding peak power of 1.5 GW. The simulated FEL properties are compared with various experimental data and found to be in excellent agreement.