First lasing of the compact infrared free-electron laser

Ira S. Lehrman, Jayaram Krishnaswamy, Richard A. Hartley, Robert H. Austin, Donald W. Feldman

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

On 15 May 1996, lasing was achieved at the Compact Infrared Free-Electron Laser (CIRFEL) at 14 μm. The electron beam energy was 11.2 MeV and the micropulse charge was 1 nC. The width of the detuning curve was approximately 50 μm. Since achieving this milestone, we have lased repeatedly from 12.5 to 20 μm with between 0.25 and 1.5 nC of charge. Saturation is typically reached in less than 1.5 μs. The measured FEL spectrum is Gaussian in shape with a line width of 56 nm at 13 μm. Assuming a transform limited pulse, this corresponds to an FEL light pulse of 4.4 ps. The CIRFEL is a photocathode based free-electron laser with a micropulse width of 4-10 ps and a micropulse separation of 7 ns. The macropulse length is between 4 and 6 μs and the repetition rate is between 1 and 5 Hz. We present details of the CIRFEL machine as well as experimental measurements of the FEL radiation.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)178-183
Number of pages6
JournalNuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research, Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment
Volume393
Issue number1-3
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 1 1997

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Nuclear and High Energy Physics
  • Instrumentation

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