Title :
Short-pulse effects in a free-electron laser
Author :
Bakker, R.J. ; Jaroszynski, D.A. ; van der Meer, A.F.G. ; Oepts, D. ; van Amersfoort, P.W.
Author_Institution :
EURATOM-FOM, FOM-Inst. voor Plasmafysica Rijnhuizen, Niewegein, Netherlands
fDate :
7/1/1994 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
The Free-Electron Laser for Infrared eXperiments (FELIX) offers a unique combination of short electron bunches and long wavelengths, i.e. a slippage parameter μc ranging up to 10. As a consequence, pronounced short-pulse effects can be observed. In this paper the experimental observation of two of these effects is discussed, namely the occurrence of limit-cycle oscillations and the feasibility of tuning of the micropulse duration. The stable limit-cycle oscillation of the macropulse power is due to a modulation of the optical micropulse shape. This is a consequence of a combination of high optical power and short pulses. The former causes synchrotron oscillations of the electrons and the effect is, therefore, closely related to spiking phenomena. The short-pulse nature of FELIX ensures that the oscillations do not evolve into the chaotic behavior normally associated with spiking and the sideband instability. Experimental results are compared with numerical simulations
Keywords :
free electron lasers; laser tuning; limit cycles; FELIX; free-electron laser; infrared wavelengths; limit-cycle oscillations; macropulse optical power; micropulse duration tuning; numerical simulations; optical micropulse shape modulation; short electron bunches; short-pulse effects; sideband instability; slippage parameter; spiking; synchrotron oscillations; Chaos; Electron optics; Free electron lasers; Laser tuning; Limit-cycles; Optical modulation; Optical pulses; Optical tuning; Shape; Synchrotrons;
Journal_Title :
Quantum Electronics, IEEE Journal of