Paper | Title | Page |
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TU5RFP053 | Efficiency and Spectrum Enhancement in a Tapered Free-Electron Laser Amplifier | 1207 |
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Funding: This work is supported in part by the Office of Naval Research (ONR), the Joint Technology Office, and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) under contract No. DE-AC02-98CH1-886. We report the first experimental characterization of efficiency and spectrum enhancement in a laser-seeded free-electron laser (FEL) using a tapered undulator. Output and spectra in the fundamental and 3rd harmonic were measured versus distance for uniform and tapered undulators. With a 4% field taper over 3 m, a 300% (50%) increase in the fundamental (3rd harmonic) output was observed. A significant improvement in the spectra with the elimination of side-bands was observed for the first time using a tapered undulator. The experiment is in good agreement with predictions using the MEDUSA simulation code. |