23–28 Aug 2026
America/Los_Angeles timezone

Sub-Femtosecond X-ray Free-Electron Laser Driven by Additional Bunch Compression via Reverse-Energy Chirp at SACLA

TUX02
25 Aug 2026, 08:50
20m
Invited Oral Presentation Session 4: SASE FEL SASE FEL (Invited)

Speaker

Eito Iwai (Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute, RIKEN SPring-8 Center)

Description

We demonstrate sub-femtosecond hard X-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) pulse generation at SACLA, achieved through a robust and flexible scheme for additional electron bunch compression. The method leverages a reverse-energy chirp, driven by wakefields within the accelerating structures and longitudinal space charge effects. By employing a tunable R56 optics in a two Double Bend Achromat (DBA) dogleg, we further compress electron bunches just before the undulators. A key advantage is the ability to adjust the longitudinal pulse duration while keeping the downstream beam orbit and transverse envelope stationary, ensuring that lasing conditions remain optimized throughout the tuning process. This allows for a rapid and reproducible transition between standard SASE and sub-femtosecond operation modes without the need for extensive beam tuning. Experimental characterization using a single-shot spectrometer and ASE-based diagnostics confirms that this additional compression successfully produces pulse durations below 1 fs (FWHM) with pulse energies up to 60 uJ. This scheme provides a practical and scalable approach for attosecond-regime XFEL science, applicable to various facilities.

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Author

Eito Iwai (Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute, RIKEN SPring-8 Center)

Co-authors

Kenji Yasutome (RIKEN SPring-8 Center) Hirokazu Maesaka (RIKEN SPring-8 Center) Toru Hara (RIKEN SPring-8 Center) Kouichi Soutome (RIKEN SPring-8 Center) Hitoshi Tanaka (RIKEN SPring-8 Center)

Presentation materials

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