Hard X-ray free-electron laser with femtosecond-scale timing jitter

• Published in: Nature photonics Vol. 11; no. 11; pp. 708 - 713
• Main Authors: Kang, Heung-Sik, Min, Chang-Ki, Heo, Hoon, Kim, Changbum, Yang, Haeryong, Kim, Gyujin, Nam, Inhyuk, Baek, Soung Youl, Choi, Hyo-Jin, Mun, Geonyeong, Park, Byoung Ryul, Suh, Young Jin, Shin, Dong Cheol, Hu, Jinyul, Hong, Juho, Jung, Seonghoon, Kim, Sang-Hee, Kim, KwangHoon, Park, Soung Soo, Park, Yong Jung, Han, Jang-Hui, Jung, Young Gyu, Jeong, Seong Hun, Lee, Hong Gi, Lee, Sangbong, Lee, Sojeong, Lee, Woul-Woo, Oh, Bonggi, Suh, Hyung Suck, Parc, Yong Woon, Park, Sung-Ju, Kim, Min Ho, Jung, Nam-Suk, Kim, Young-Chan, Lee, Mong-Soo, Lee, Bong-Ho, Sung, Chi-Won, Mok, Ik-Su, Yang, Jung-Moo, Lee, Chae-Soon, Shin, Hocheol, Kim, Ji Hwa, Kim, Yongsam, Lee, Jae Hyuk, Park, Sang-Youn, Kim, Jangwoo, Park, Jaeku, Eom, Intae, Rah, Seungyu, Kim, Sunam, Nam, Ki Hyun, Park, Jaehyun, Park, Jaehun, Kim, Sangsoo, Kwon, Soonam, Park, Sang Han, Kim, Kyung Sook, Hyun, Hyojung, Kim, Seung Nam, Kim, Seonghan, Hwang, Sun-min, Kim, Myong Jin, Lim, Chae-yong, Yu, Chung-Jong, Kim, Bong-Soo, Kang, Tai-Hee, Kim, Kwang-Woo, Kim, Seung-Hwan, Lee, Hee-Seock, Lee, Heung-Soo, Park, Ki-Hyeon, Koo, Tae-Yeong, Kim, Dong-Eon, Ko, In Soo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group 01.11.2017
• Subjects: Acceleration; Alignment; Coherent light; Electron beams; Electrons; Free electron lasers; Laboratories; Laser beams; Lasers; Light sources; Orbital stability; Photon beams; Radiation; Spectrum analysis; Stability analysis; State of the art; Superconducting supercolliders; Timing jitter; Vibration; X ray spectra; South Korea
• ISSN: 1749-4885; 1749-4893
• DOI: 10.1038/s41566-017-0029-8

The hard X-ray free-electron laser at the Pohang Accelerator Laboratory (PAL-XFEL) in the Republic of Korea achieved saturation of a 0.144 nm free-electron laser beam on 27 November 2016, making it the third hard X-ray free-electron laser in the world, following the demonstrations of the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) and the SPring-8 Angstrom Compact Free Electron Laser (SACLA). The use of electron-beam-based alignment incorporating undulator radiation spectrum analysis has allowed reliable operation of PAL-XFEL with unprecedented temporal stability and dispersion-free orbits. In particular, a timing jitter of just 20 fs for the free-electron laser photon beam is consistently achieved due to the use of a state-of-the-art design of the electron linear accelerator and electron-beam-based alignment. The low timing jitter of the electron beam makes it possible to observe Bi(111) phonon dynamics without the need for timing-jitter correction, indicating that PAL-XFEL will be an extremely useful tool for hard X-ray time-resolved experiments. The Pohang Accelerator Laboratory X-ray Free Electron Laser (PAL-XFEL) in South Korea has now entered operation with a timing jitter of just 20 fs.