Chirped-Pulse Amplification in an Echo-Enabled Harmonic-Generation Free-Electron Laser

Abstract

The field of ultrafast science has experienced significant growth over the last decade, largely attributed to advancements in optical and laser technologies such as chirped-pulse amplification and high-harmonic generation. The distinctive characteristics of intense ultrafast free-electron lasers (FELs) have introduced novel prospects for investigating molecular dynamics, as well as providing an opportunity to gain deeper insights into nonlinear processes in materials. Therefore, high-power ultrafast FELs can be widely used for both fundamental research and practical applications. This study presents a novel approach for producing high-power femtosecond FEL pulses, utilizing chirped-pulse amplification in echo-enabled harmonic generation. Chirped seed pulses are employed to induce frequency-chirped energy modulation in the electron beam. The generated FEL pulse, which inherits the chirped frequency, can be compressed through the gratings in the off-plane mount geometry to provide ultraintense ultrafast pulses. The numerical modeling results indicate that peak power exceeding 20 GW and a pulse duration in the order of several femtoseconds can be achieved.