Scientists crack long-standing problem limiting next-gen X-ray lasers
Researchers have experimentally solved the microbunching instability, a technical barrier that has prevented free-electron lasers from achieving their full potential in the X-ray spectrum. The breakthrough could unlock new capabilities for materials science, drug discovery, and industrial inspection applications that depend on high-brightness X-ray sources.
Originaltitel: Mitigation of the microbunching instability through transverse Landau damping
<p>The microbunching instability has been a long-standing issue for high-brightness free-electron lasers (FELs) and is a significant showstopper to achieve full longitudinal coherence in the x-ray regime. This paper reports the first experimental demonstration of microbunching instability mitigation through transverse Landau damping, based on linear optics control in a dispersive region. Analytical predictions for the microbunching content are supported by numerical calculations of the instability gain. The effect is confirmed through the experimental characterization of the spectral brightness of the FERMI FEL under different transverse optics configurations of the transfer line between the linear accelerator and the FEL.</p>