Sideband suppression in free electron lasers using a grating rhomb

The phase shift produced by a grating rhomb is included in free-electron laser (FEL) pulse calculations to investigate whether or not grating rhombs can be used to suppress the sideband instability. The idea is that because the group travel time through a rhomb is an increasing function of the laser wavelength, an FEL oscillator can be designed such that the optical pulse at a chosen central wavelength and the pulse of electrons overlap spatially when they enter the wiggler. Over many passes, light in a small bandwidth about the chosen wavelength receives the greatest amplification because it overlaps the electrons, and light at sideband instability wavelengths that does not overlap the electrons is suppressed by losses in the oscillator cavity. For a 5-m tapered wiggler, the range in rhomb dispersion and cavity loss that yields acceptable FEL performance is defined. At low values of cavity loss, for example 15%, a wide range of rhomb dispersion exists for which both the sideband instability is largely suppressed and the energy extracted from the electrons is high. At larger values of cavity loss, for example 30%, a critical value for rhomb dispersion exists below which the laser pulse is compressed by the rhomb, leading to reduced energy extraction.<>