LCLS Undulator Commissioning, Alignment, and Performance

The LCLS x-ray FEL has recently achieved its 1.5-Angstrom lasing and saturation goals upon first trial. This was achieved as a result of a thorough pre-beam checkout, both traditional and beam-based component alignment techniques, and high electron beam brightness. The x-ray FEL process demands very tight tolerances on the straightness of the electron beam trajectory (<5 {micro}m) through the LCLS undulator system. Tight, but less stringent tolerances of {approx}100 {micro}m rms were met for the transverse placement of the individual undulator segments with respect to the beam axis. The tolerances for electron beam straightness can only be met through a beam-based alignment (BBA) method, which is implemented using large electron energy variations and sub-micron resolution cavity beam position monitors (BPM), with precise conventional alignment used to set the starting conditions. Precision-fiducialization of components mounted on remotely adjustable girders, and special beam-finder wires (BFW) at each girder have been used to meet these challenging alignment tolerances. Longer-term girder movement due to ground motion and temperature changes are being monitored, continuously, by a unique stretched wire and hydrostatic level Alignment Diagnostics System (ADS)

Characterization of Second Harmonic Afterburner Radiation at the LCLS

During commissioning of the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) x-ray Free Electron Laser (FEL) at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory it was shown that saturation lengths much shorter than the installed length of the undulator line can routinely be achieved. This frees undulator segments that can be used to provide enhanced spectral properties and at the same time, test the concept of FEL Afterburners. In December 2009 a project was initiated to convert undulator segments at the down-beam end of the undulator line into Second Harmonic Afterburners (SHAB) to enhance LCLS radiation levels in the 10-20 keV energy range. This is being accomplished by replacement of gap-shims increasing the fixed gaps from 6.8 mm to 9.9 mm, which reduces their K values from 3.50 to 2.25 and makes the segments resonant at the second harmonic of the upstream unmodified undulators. This paper reports experimental results of the commissioning of the SHAB extension to LCLS

Magnetic Measurements of the Background Field in the Undulator Hall with Ductwork and Cable Trays

The duct work and cable trays present in the undulator hall facility are made out of potentially magnetically active materials. This note describes a measurement done to make a comparison between the fields in the undulator hall with the duct work and cable trays present and in the Magnetic Measurement Facility. In order for the undulators to have the proper tuning, the background magnetic field in the Undulator Hall must agree with the background field in the Magnetic Measurements Facility within 0.5 gauss. To verify that this was the case, measurements were taken along the length of the undulator hall, and the point measurements were compared to the mean field which was measured on the MMF test bench. This set of measurements was conducted with most of the cable trays and duct work in place, but without any of the magnet stands in place

Magnetic Measurement Results of the LCLS Undulator Quadrupoles

This note details the magnetic measurements and the magnetic center fiducializations that were performed on all of the thirty-six LCLS undulator quadrupoles. Temperature rise, standardization reproducibility, vacuum chamber effects and magnetic center reproducibility measurements are also presented. The Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) undulator beam line has 33 girders, each with a LCLS undulator quadrupole which focuses and steers the beam through the beam line. Each quadrupole has main quadrupole coils, as well as separate horizontal and vertical trim coils. Thirty-six quadrupoles, thirty-three installed and three spares were, manufactured for the LCLS undulator system and all were measured to confirm that they met requirement specifications for integrated gradient, harmonics and for magnetic center shifts after current changes. The horizontal and vertical dipole trims of each quadrupole were similarly characterized. Each quadrupole was also fiducialized to its magnetic center. All characterizing measurements on the undulator quads were performed with their mirror plates on and after a standardization of three cycles from -6 to +6 to -6 amps. Since the undulator quadrupoles could be used as a focusing or defocusing magnet depending on their location, all quadrupoles were characterized as focusing and as defocusing quadrupoles. A subset of the undulator quadrupoles were used to verify that the undulator quadrupole design met specifications for temperature rise, standardization reproducibility and magnetic center reproducibility after splitting. The effects of the mirror plates on the undulator quadrupoles were also measured

Impact of electron beam quality on nonlinear harmonic generation in high-gain free-electron lasers

Nonlinear harmonic generation can be a very useful and important phenomenon for single-pass free-electron lasers (FELs) operating in the high-gain regime. Strong bunching at the fundamental wavelength and its associated higher harmonic content allow significant radiation at shorter wavelengths to be emitted without serious effects upon the output power at the fundamental. Here, we analyze the relative sensitivities to beam quality variations of the output fundamental and harmonic powers for a visible-wavelength FEL operating in the high-gain regime

Opportunities for Gas-Phase Science at Short-Wavelength Free-Electron Lasers with Undulator-Based Polarization Control

Free-electron lasers (FELs) are the world's most brilliant light sources with rapidly evolving technological capabilities in terms of ultrabright and ultrashort pulses over a large range of accessible photon energies. Their revolutionary and innovative developments have opened new fields of science regarding nonlinear light-matter interaction, the investigation of ultrafast processes from specific observer sites, and approaches to imaging matter with atomic resolution. A core aspect of FEL science is the study of isolated and prototypical systems in the gas phase with the possibility of addressing well-defined electronic transitions or particular atomic sites in molecules. Notably for polarization-controlled short-wavelength FELs, the gas phase offers new avenues for investigations of nonlinear and ultrafast phenomena in spin orientated systems, for decoding the function of the chiral building blocks of life as well as steering reactions and particle emission dynamics in otherwise inaccessible ways. This roadmap comprises descriptions of technological capabilities of facilities worldwide, innovative diagnostics and instrumentation, as well as recent scientific highlights, novel methodology and mathematical modeling. The experimental and theoretical landscape of using polarization controllable FELs for dichroic light-matter interaction in the gas phase will be discussed and comprehensively outlined to stimulate and strengthen global collaborative efforts of all disciplines

Femtosecond Operation of the LCLS for User Experiments

In addition to its normal operation at 250pC, the LCLS has operated with 20pC bunches delivering X-ray beams to users with energies between 800eV and 2 keV and with bunch lengths below 10 fs FWHM. A bunch arrival time monitor and timing transmission system provide users with sub 50 fs synchronization between a laser and the X-rays for pump/probe experiments. We describe the performance and operational experience of the LCLS for short bunch experiments

Technological Challenges to X-Ray FELs

There is strong interest in the development of x-ray free electron lasers (x-ray FELs). The interest is driven by the scientific opportunities provided by intense, coherent x-rays. An x-ray FEL has all the characteristics of a fourth-generation source: brightness several orders of magnitude greater than presently achieved in third-generation sources, full transverse coherence, and sub-picosecond long pulses. The SLAC and DESY laboratories have presented detailed design studies for X-Ray FEL user facilities around the 0.1 nm wavelength-regime (LCLS at SLAC, TESLA X-Ray FEL at DESY). Both laboratories are engaged in proof-of-principle experiments are longer wavelengths (TTF FEL Phase I at 71 nm, VISA at 600-800 nm) with results expected in 1999. The technologies needed to achieve the proposed performances are those of bright electron sources, of acceleration systems capable of preserving the brightness of the source, and of undulators capable of meeting the magnetic and mechanical tolerances that are required for operation in the SASE mode. This paper discusses the technological challenges presented by the X-Ray FEL projects

Technological Challenges to X-Ray FELs

There is strong interest in the development of x-ray free electron lasers (x-ray FELs). The interest is driven by the scientific opportunities provided by intense, coherent x-rays. An x-ray FEL has all the characteristics of a fourthgeneration source: brightness several orders of magnitude greater than presently achieved in third-generation sources, full transverse coherence, and sub-picosecond long pulses. The SLAC and DESY laboratories have presented detailed design studies for X-Ray FEL user-facilities around the 0.1 nm wavelength-regime (LCLS at SLAC, TESLA X-Ray FEL at DESY). Both laboratories are engaged in proof-of-principle experiments at longer wavelengths (TTF FEL Phase I at 71 nm, VISA at 600-800 nm) with results expected in 1999. The technologies needed to achieve the proposed performances are those of bright electron sources, of acceleration systems capable of preserving the brightness of the source, and of undulators capable of meeting the magnetic and mechanical toler..