Compact 1-kW infrared regenerative amplifier FEL

Richard L. Sheffield; Dinh C. Nguyen; John C. Goldstein; Nizar A. Ebrahim; Clifford M. Fortgang; John M. Kinross-Wright

doi:10.1117/12.274394

15 May 1997 Compact 1-kW infrared regenerative amplifier FEL

Richard L. Sheffield, Dinh C. Nguyen, John C. Goldstein, Nizar A. Ebrahim, Clifford M. Fortgang, John M. Kinross-Wright

Proceedings Volume 2988, Free-Electron Laser Challenges; (1997) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.274394
Event: Photonics West '97, 1997, San Jose, CA, United States

Abstract

This paper describes the design, construction, and initial operation of an infrared FEL designed for 1 kW average power. The experiment utilizes the existing advanced free-electron laser (AFEL) accelerator. An expected 6% extraction efficiency of electron beam power to optical power gives an overall wall- plug efficiency of approximately 1%. The 10 to 20 MeV electron accelerator is 1.2 m long. This regenerative amplifier FEL (RAFEL) relies on a few (less than ten) passes to reach saturation. The technique is similar to a FEL oscillator through the use of optical feedback to reach saturation. However, in this design the feedback is limited to less than 1% in the large signal regime. The chief advantage to this approach is that no mirror is exposed to a high peak intensity, enabling high-average power in a compact optical configuration. To compensate for the low optical feedback, the single-pass gain must be very high. In our design, the single- pass gain is 10⁵ in the small signal regime. RAFEL is presently configured to operate at a wavelength near 16 microns. However, this system is scaleable to shorter wavelengths by increasing beam energy. Present results indicate that a single pass gain of 60 in the infrared has been observed.

Citation Download Citation

Richard L. Sheffield, Dinh C. Nguyen, John C. Goldstein, Nizar A. Ebrahim, Clifford M. Fortgang, and John M. Kinross-Wright "Compact 1-kW infrared regenerative amplifier FEL", Proc. SPIE 2988, Free-Electron Laser Challenges, (15 May 1997); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.274394

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available