Short-pulse limits in optical instrumentation design for the SLAC Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS)

Abstract

Abstract. The source properties of linac-driven X-Ray Free-Electron Lasers (XRFELs) operating in the Self-Amplified Spontaneous Emission (SASE) regime differ markedly from those of ordinary insertion devices on synchrotron storage rings. In the case of the 1.5 Å SLAC Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), the longitudinal output profile typically consists of a randomly-distributed train of fully-transversely-coherent micropulses of randomly varying intensity and an average length (corresponding to the source coherence length) two to three orders of magnitude smaller than the transverse diameter of the beam. Total pulse lengths are typically of the same order of size as the beam diameter. Both of these properties can be shown to significantly impact the performance of otherwise conventional synchrotron radiation optics; viz., mirrors, lenses, zone plates, crystals, multilayers, etc. In this paper we outline an analysis of short-pulse effects on selected optical components for the SLAC LCLS and discuss the implications for critical applications such as microfocusing and monochromatization.