Versatile modulators for laser-based FEL seeding at SwissFEL.

The Paul Scherrer Institute is implementing laser-based seeding in the soft X-ray beamline (Athos) of its free-electron laser, SwissFEL, to enhance the temporal and spectral properties of the delivered photon pulses. This technique requires, among other components, two identical modulators for coupling the electron beam with an external laser with a wavelength range between 260 and 1600 nm. The design, magnetic measurements results, alignment, operation and also details of the novel and exotic magnetic configuration of the prototype are described.

Undulator beamline optimization with integrated chicanes for X-ray free-electron-laser facilities.

An optimization of the undulator layout of X-ray free-electron-laser (FEL) facilities based on placing small chicanes between the undulator modules is presented. The installation of magnetic chicanes offers the following benefits with respect to state-of-the-art FEL facilities: reduction of the required undulator length to achieve FEL saturation, improvement of the longitudinal coherence of the FEL pulses, and the ability to produce shorter FEL pulses with higher power levels. Numerical simulations performed for the soft X-ray beamline of the SwissFEL facility show that optimizing the advantages of the layout requires shorter undulator modules than the standard ones. This proposal allows a very compact undulator beamline that produces fully coherent FEL pulses and it makes possible new kinds of experiments that require very short and high-power FEL pulses.

An X-ray free-electron laser with a highly configurable undulator and integrated chicanes for tailored pulse properties.

X-ray free-electron lasers (FELs) are state-of-the-art scientific tools capable to study matter on the scale of atomic processes. Since the initial operation of X-ray FELs more than a decade ago, several facilities with upgraded performance have been put in operation. Here we present the first lasing results of Athos, the soft X-ray FEL beamline of SwissFEL at the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland. Athos features an undulator layout based on short APPLE-X modules providing full polarisation control, interleaved with small magnetic chicanes. This versatile configuration allows for many operational modes, giving control over many FEL properties. We show, for example, a 35% reduction of the required undulator length to achieve FEL saturation with respect to standard undulator configurations. We also demonstrate the generation of more powerful pulses than the ones obtained in typical undulators. Athos represents a fundamental step forward in the design of FEL facilities, creating opportunities in FEL-based sciences.