Abstract State-of-the-art X-ray photon science with modern freeelectron lasers (FEL) like FLASH (free-electron laser in Hamburg) and the upcoming European X-ray Free-Electron Laser Facility (XFEL) requires timing with femtosecond accuracy. For this purpose a sophisticated pulsed optical synchronization system distributes precise timing via lengthstabilized fiber links throughout the entire FEL. Stations to be synchronized comprise bunch arrival time monitors (BAM's), RF stations and optical cross-correlators (OXC) for external lasers. The different requirements of all those stations have to be met by one optical link stabilization unit (LSU) design, compensating drifts and jitter in the distribution system down to a fs-level. Five years of LSU operation at FLASH have led to numerous enhancements resulting in an elaborate system. This paper presents these enhancements, their impact on synchronization performance and the latest state of the LSUs
