Electron Bunch Timing with Femtosecond Precision in a Superconducting Free-Electron Laser

F. Löhl; V. Arsov; M. Felber; K. Hacker; W. Jalmuzna; B. Lorbeer; F. Ludwig; K.-H. Matthiesen; H. Schlarb; B. Schmidt; P. Schmüser; S. Schulz; J. Szewinski; A. Winter; J. Zemella

doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.104.144801

Electron Bunch Timing with Femtosecond Precision in a Superconducting Free-Electron Laser

F. Löhl, V. Arsov, M. Felber, K. Hacker, W. Jalmuzna, B. Lorbeer, F. Ludwig, K.-H. Matthiesen, H. Schlarb, B. Schmidt, P. Schmüser, S. Schulz, J. Szewinski, A. Winter, J. Zemella

DOI 10.1103/PhysRevLett.104.144801 · Physical Review Letters

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Abstract

High-gain free-electron lasers (FELs) are capable of generating femtosecond x-ray pulses with peak brilliances many orders of magnitude higher than at other existing x-ray sources. In order to fully exploit the opportunities offered by these femtosecond light pulses in time-resolved experiments, an unprecedented synchronization accuracy is required. In this Letter, we distributed the pulse train of a mode-locked fiber laser with femtosecond stability to different locations in the linear accelerator of the soft x-ray FEL FLASH. A novel electro-optic detection scheme was applied to measure the electron bunch arrival time with an as yet unrivaled precision of 6 fs (rms). With two beam-based feedback systems we succeeded in stabilizing both the arrival time and the electron bunch compression process within two magnetic chicanes, yielding a significant reduction of the FEL pulse energy jitter.