Abstract
We investigate a fundamental limitation occurring in vacuum ultraviolet and extreme ultraviolet seeded free electron lasers (FELs). For a given electron beam and undulator configuration, an increase of the FEL output energy at saturation can be obtained via an increase of the seed pulse duration. We put in evidence a complex spatiotemporal deformation of the amplified pulse, leading ultimately to a pulse splitting effect. Numerical studies of the Colson–Bonifacio FEL equations reveal that slippage length and seed laser pulse wings are core ingredients of the dynamics.
- Received 24 September 2009
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.103.264801
©2009 American Physical Society