Featured
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Experimental demonstration of attosecond pump–probe spectroscopy with an X-ray free-electron laser
Researchers have demonstrated the generation and control of subfemtosecond pulse pairs from a two-colour X-ray free-electron laser and conducted pump–probe experiments in core-ionized molecules.
- Zhaoheng Guo
- , Taran Driver
- & Agostino Marinelli
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Article |
Extreme focusing of hard X-ray free-electron laser pulses enables 7 nm focus width and 1022 W cm−2 intensity
Researchers focused hard X-rays from a free-electron laser down to transverse dimensions of ~7 nm × 7 nm, enabling a two-order increase in intensity of photons and yielding access to the elusive 1022 W cm−2 regime. Such intense, short-wavelength electromagnetic radiation may probe atomic, molecular and optical physics with extremely high resolution.
- Jumpei Yamada
- , Satoshi Matsuyama
- & Kazuto Yamauchi
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Article |
Coherence and superradiance from a plasma-based quasiparticle accelerator
A new conceptual approach to light generation involving an ensemble of light-emitting charges may result in more compact superradiant light sources.
- B. Malaca
- , M. Pardal
- & J. Vieira
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Article
| Open Access
Cascaded hard X-ray self-seeded free-electron laser at megahertz repetition rate
A cascaded hard X-ray self-seeding system is demonstrated at the European X-ray free-electron laser. The setup enables millijoule-level pulses in the photon energy range of 6–14 keV at the rate of ten trains per second, with each train including hundreds of pulses arriving at a megahertz repetition rate.
- Shan Liu
- , Christian Grech
- & Gianluca Geloni
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News & Views |
A step towards cavity-based X-ray free electron lasers
The demonstration of a low-loss diamond mirror cavity that can temporally store X-ray pulses brings hope for a future generation of X-ray free electron lasers.
- Enrico Allaria
- & Giovanni De Ninno
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Article |
Low-loss stable storage of 1.2 Å X-ray pulses in a 14 m Bragg cavity
A low-loss cavity is shown to store X-ray laser pulses for >2.8 μs.
- Rachel Margraf
- , River Robles
- & Diling Zhu
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Attosecond coherent control of electronic wave packets in two-colour photoionization using a novel timing tool for seeded free-electron laser
Relative synchronization between free-electron laser pulses and a near-infrared field fields is achieved with 24 as resolution by using a correlation analysis of single-shot photoelectron spectra. It is applied to coherently control the photoionization process in neon atom on the attosecond timescale.
- Praveen Kumar Maroju
- , Michele Di Fraia
- & Giuseppe Sansone
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Article |
Widely tunable electron bunch trains for the generation of high-power narrowband 1–10 THz radiation
A tunable terahertz radiation pulse is demonstrated based on a linear accelerator. The emission frequency of this terahertz radiation is tunable from 1 to 10 THz by changing the bunching frequency of a 34 MeV electron beam. The pulse energy is at the submillijoule level.
- Yifan Liang
- , Zhuoyuan Liu
- & Chuanxiang Tang
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Article
| Open Access
Seeded free-electron laser driven by a compact laser plasma accelerator
Researchers demonstrate a laser-plasma accelerator-driven free-electron laser in a seeded configuration, where control over the radiation wavelength and longitudinal coherence are achieved.
- Marie Labat
- , Jurjen Couperus Cabadağ
- & Marie-Emmanuelle Couprie
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Article |
Single-pass high-efficiency terahertz free-electron laser
A single-pass free-electron laser based on a waveguide in a tapered helical undulator is developed. The energy conversion efficiency from a relativistic electron beam to terahertz waves at 0.16 THz is ~10%.
- A. Fisher
- , Y. Park
- & P. Musumeci
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Article |
Generation and measurement of intense few-femtosecond superradiant extreme-ultraviolet free-electron laser pulses
By amplifying a soliton in a multistage cascade, few-femtosecond extreme-ultraviolet free-electron laser pulses are achieved.
- Najmeh S. Mirian
- , Michele Di Fraia
- & Luca Giannessi
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Letter |
Hard X-ray transient grating spectroscopy on bismuth germanate
A four-wave mixing technique is developed in the hard X-ray range. A diamond phase grating in an X-ray beam path creates a periodic excitation pattern on a sample via the Talbot effect. The response of the periodic excitation is probed by an optical pulse.
- Jérémy R. Rouxel
- , Danny Fainozzi
- & Cristian Svetina
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Article |
High-brightness self-seeded X-ray free-electron laser covering the 3.5 keV to 14.6 keV range
A hard X-ray self-seeded X-ray free-electron laser at the Pohang Accelerator Laboratory provides X-ray pulses with peak brightness of 3.2 × 1035 photons s–1 mm–2 mrad–2 0.1%BW–1 at 9.7 keV and a very small shot-to-shot electron energy jitter of 0.012%.
- Inhyuk Nam
- , Chang-Ki Min
- & Heung-Sik Kang
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News & Views |
Compact design delivers hard X-rays
Beneath a forest in Villigen, Switzerland, a new compact free-electron laser facility is generating brilliant X-ray flashes.
- Makina Yabashi
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Article |
A compact and cost-effective hard X-ray free-electron laser driven by a high-brightness and low-energy electron beam
The first lasing results at SwissFEL, an X-ray free-electron laser, are presented, highlighting the facility’s unique capabilities. A general comparison to other major facilities is also provided.
- Eduard Prat
- , Rafael Abela
- & Elke Zimoch
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Article |
A MHz-repetition-rate hard X-ray free-electron laser driven by a superconducting linear accelerator
The first operation of the European X-ray free-electron laser facility accelerator based on superconducting technology is reported. The maximum electron energy is 17.5 GeV. A laser average power of 6 W is achieved at a photon energy of 9.3 keV.
- W. Decking
- , S. Abeghyan
- & D. Zybin
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News & Views |
Towards coherent X-ray free-electron lasers
Increased bandwidth and fluctuations are hurdles on the path towards generating intense fully coherent X-ray free-electron laser output. A recent experiment at FERMI Trieste demonstrated that these difficulties can be overcome by an approach called echo-enabled harmonic generation.
- Li Hua Yu
- & Timur Shaftan
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Article |
Precision control of gamma-ray polarization using a crossed helical undulator free-electron laser
A method to control the polarization of a Compton gamma-ray beam is developed. By using a free-electron laser oscillator with two helical undulator magnets of opposite helicities, Compton gamma-ray beams with a polarizability of 0.97 are generated.
- Jun Yan
- , Jonathan M. Mueller
- & Ying K. Wu
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Article |
Coherent soft X-ray pulses from an echo-enabled harmonic generation free-electron laser
Echo-enabled harmonic generation in a free-electron laser enables 45th harmonic pulses from a 264 nm wavelength seed, yielding 5.9 nm wavelength coherent output.
- Primož Rebernik Ribič
- , Alessandro Abrami
- & Enrico Massimiliano Allaria
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Letter |
Generation of narrow-band X-ray free-electron laser via reflection self-seeding
A nearly Fourier-limited X-ray free-electron laser beam is generated by a self-seeding scheme. The beam in the first half of the undulators is monochromatized via Bragg reflection, and is subsequently amplified in the remaining undulators.
- Ichiro Inoue
- , Taito Osaka
- & Makina Yabashi
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Article |
Attosecond time–energy structure of X-ray free-electron laser pulses
Attosecond time–energy characterization of pulses generated by the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) X-ray free-electron laser is enabled by angular streaking measurements.
- N. Hartmann
- , G. Hartmann
- & W. Helml
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News & Views |
Highly efficient nanoscale X-ray sources
Irradiating arrays of metal nanowires with intense femtosecond laser pulses produces high-brightness picosecond X-ray pulses. By specifically tailoring the plasma properties, up to 20% conversion efficiency of optical light into X-rays can be achieved.
- Daniel Rolles
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Hard X-ray free-electron laser with femtosecond-scale timing jitter
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.
- Heung-Sik Kang
- , Chang-Ki Min
- & In Soo Ko
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Editorial |
Europe turns on bright X-ray source
The opening of the superconducting European X-ray free-electron laser in Hamburg, Germany provides exciting opportunities for exploring a completely new world of science.
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Q&A |
A bright light for Europe
Following eight years of construction, the superconducting European X-ray free-electron laser in Hamburg, Germany has just opened and started its first experiments. Nature Photonics spoke to Thomas Tschentscher, its scientific director, about the facility and its plans.
- Noriaki Horiuchi
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News & Views |
Imaging ultrafast electron dynamics
A feasible route towards electron microscopy at the attosecond timescale is now possible thanks to the implementation of an optical gating approach.
- Alberto Simoncig
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Letter |
Integrated Cherenkov radiation emitter eliminating the electron velocity threshold
Researchers use hyperbolic metamaterials to make an integrated Cherenkov light source and relax the electron energy requirements. Radiation covering the visible range and near-infrared is achieved with electron energies of only 0.25–1.4 keV.
- Fang Liu
- , Long Xiao
- & Yidong Huang
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Femtosecond-laser-driven wire-guided helical undulator for intense terahertz radiation
Terahertz (THz) pulses are generated by irradiating a metal wire with femtosecond laser pulses. For incident laser energy of 3 mJ, a THz pulse with energy of 28 μJ is obtained from a 10-cm-long wire. The spectrum of the THz pulse covers 0.1–1.5 THz.
- Ye Tian
- , Jiansheng Liu
- & Zhizhan Xu
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News & Views |
Multicolour emission
The X-ray free-electron laser at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in the US can now generate multicolour X-ray pulses with unprecedented brightness using the fresh-slice technique. The development opens the way to new forms of spectroscopy.
- Chao Feng
- & Haixiao Deng
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Article |
Fresh-slice multicolour X-ray free-electron lasers
A new scheme for multicolour X-ray free-electron lasers at soft X-ray wavelengths is proposed. The scheme significantly improves two-colour pulse generation and makes possible the first demonstration of three-colour pulse generation.
- Alberto A. Lutman
- , Timothy J. Maxwell
- & Johann C. U. Zemella
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An ultrawide-bandwidth single-sideband modulator for terahertz frequencies
A terahertz (THz) optical single-sideband modulator (OSSB) for direct conversion of free-space THz electromagnetic radiation to THz optical modulations is realized. The THz OSSB operates in the 0.3–1.0 THz range without any frequency-dependent tuning.
- A. S. Meijer
- , G. Berden
- & W. J. van der Zande
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News & Views |
Echoes of photons past
High-harmonic generation is an established method to significantly upshift laser photon energies. Now, researchers at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have used echo concepts to generate coherent high-harmonic output from an electron-beam light source.
- Lawrence T. Campbell
- & Brian W. J. McNeil
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Letter |
Echo-enabled harmonics up to the 75th order from precisely tailored electron beams
Echo-enabled harmonic generation has been used to seed a free-electron laser and has been demonstrated up to the 75th harmonic, producing 32 nm light from a 2,400 nm laser.
- E. Hemsing
- , M. Dunning
- & D. Xiang
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Article |
Polarization control in an X-ray free-electron laser
Tunable polarization control and a two-colour X-ray pump–X-ray probe operating mode are demonstrated at the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS).
- Alberto A. Lutman
- , James P. MacArthur
- & Heinz-Dieter Nuhn
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Measuring the temporal structure of few-femtosecond free-electron laser X-ray pulses directly in the time domain
Using a spectroscopy streaking technique at LCLS (Linac Coherent Light Source), researchers demonstrate temporal characterization of X-ray pulses with sub-femtosecond resolution.
- W. Helml
- , A. R. Maier
- & R. Kienberger
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High-throughput imaging of heterogeneous cell organelles with an X-ray laser
70,000 diffraction patterns captured over twelve minutes at the Linac Coherent Light Source yield reconstructions of the smallest single biological objects imaged with an X-ray laser.
- Max F. Hantke
- , Dirk Hasse
- & Inger Andersson
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Interview |
Italian free-electron laser
Michele Svandrlik and Fulvio Parmigiani, respectively Project Director and Head of Science at FERMI, talk to Nature Photonics about building the first fully coherent seeded free-electron laser that outputs soft X-rays.
- David Pile
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Article |
Two-stage seeded soft-X-ray free-electron laser
A seeded free-electron laser with a two-stage harmonic upshift configuration provided tunable and coherent soft-X-ray pulses. The configuration produced single-transverse-mode, narrow-spectral-bandwidth femtosecond pulses with energies of several tens of microjoules and a low pulse-to-pulse wavelength jitter at wavelengths of 10.8 nm and below.
- E. Allaria
- , D. Castronovo
- & M. Zangrando
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Review Article |
Developments in laser-driven plasma accelerators
Laser-driven plasma accelerators have the potential to replace existing particle accelerators, as they are highly efficient systems that are orders of magnitude smaller than conventional particle accelerators. This review discusses recent progress and future challenges in this area.
- S. M. Hooker
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Interview |
Synchronizing optics and X-rays
Capturing the dynamics of atoms and molecules using X-ray free-electron laser pulses requires femtosecond timing between the pump and probe beams. Nature Photonics spoke with Marion Harmand and Marco Cammarata about their progress.
- David Pile
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Letter |
Achieving few-femtosecond time-sorting at hard X-ray free-electron lasers
By taking advantage of free-carrier generation in optically transparent media researchers have improved synchronization between optical lasers and free-electron laser pulses. This technique has an optical/X-ray delay with a sub-10 fs r.m.s error.
- M. Harmand
- , R. Coffee
- & M. Cammarata
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Letter |
Focusing of X-ray free-electron laser pulses with reflective optics
Researchers focus 10 keV X-ray free-electron laser radiation to an area of 0.95 µm × 1.20 µm with near-100%-efficiency using reflective optics. This approach increases the fluence by a factor of 40,000 and provides a power density of 6 × 1017 W cm−2.
- Hirokatsu Yumoto
- , Hidekazu Mimura
- & Kazuto Yamauchi
Terawatt-scale attosecond X-ray pulses from a cascaded superradiant free-electron laser
The carbon footprint of research papers
Incoherent success
Ultraviolet twist
Timing is everything