Evaluation of Pulse Duration of the Soft X-ray Free Electron Laser at SACLA BL1 with Single-Shot Spectrometry

Single-particle imaging with X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs) has the potential to provide structural information at atomic resolution for non-crystalline biomolecules. This potential exists because ultra-short intense pulses can produce interpretable diffraction data notwithstanding radiation damage. This paper explores the impact of pulse duration on the interpretability of diffraction data using comprehensive and realistic simulations of an imaging experiment at the European X-ray Free-Electron Laser. It is found that the optimal pulse duration for molecules with a few thousand atoms at 5 keV lies between 3 and 9 fs.

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Spectral monitoring at SwissFEL using a high-resolution on-line hard X-ray single-shot spectrometer

Journal of Synchrotron Radiation ◽

10.1107/s1600577521009619 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 28 (6) ◽

Author(s):

Christian David ◽

Gediminas Seniutinas ◽

Mikako Makita ◽

Benedikt Rösner ◽

Jens Rehanek ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Free Electron ◽

Free Electron Laser ◽

Reference Data ◽

Diffraction Order ◽

Laser Pulses ◽

Single Shot ◽

Spectral Measurements ◽

X Ray ◽

On Line ◽

Spectral Monitoring

The performance and parameters of the online photon single-shot spectrometer (PSSS) at the Aramis beamline of the SwissFEL free-electron laser are presented. The device operates between the photon energies 4 and 13 keV and uses diamond transmission gratings and bent Si crystals for spectral measurements on the first diffraction order of the beam. The device has an energy window of 0.7% of the median photon energy of the free-electron laser pulses and a spectral resolution (full width at half-maximum) ΔE/E on the order of 10−5. The device was characterized by comparing its performance with reference data from synchrotron sources, and a parametric study investigated other effects that could affect the reliability of the spectral information.

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Single-shot arrival timing diagnostics for a soft X-ray free-electron laser beamline at SACLA

Journal of Synchrotron Radiation ◽

10.1107/s1600577517015284 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 25 (1) ◽

pp. 68-71 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Shigeki Owada ◽

Kyo Nakajima ◽

Tadashi Togashi ◽

Tetsuo Kayatama ◽

Makina Yabashi

Keyword(s):

Free Electron ◽

Free Electron Laser ◽

Imaging System ◽

Laser Pulses ◽

Single Shot ◽

Simultaneous Operation ◽

One Dimensional ◽

X Ray ◽

Arrival Timing ◽

Optical Laser

Arrival timing diagnostics performed at a soft X-ray free-electron laser (FEL) beamline of SACLA are described. Intense soft X-ray FEL pulses with one-dimensional focusing efficiently induce transient changes of optical reflectivity on the surface of GaAs. The arrival timing between soft X-ray FEL and optical laser pulses was successfully measured as a spatial position of the reflectivity change. The temporal resolution evaluated from the imaging system reaches ∼10 fs. This method requires only a small portion of the incident pulse energy, which enables the simultaneous operation of the arrival timing diagnostics and experiments by introducing a wavefront-splitting scheme.

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