• C. Behrens, C. Gerth
  DESY, Hamburg

High-brightness electron bunches with low energy spread, small emittance and high peak currents are the basis for the operation of high-gain Free Electron Lasers (FELs). As only part of the longitudinally compressed bunches contributes to the lasing process, time-resolved measurements of the bunch parameters are essential for the optimisation and operation of the FEL. Transverse deflecting structures (TDS) have been proven to be powerful tools for time-resolved measurements. Operated in combination with a magnetic energy spectrometer, the measurement of the longitudinal phase space can be accomplished. Especially in case of ultra-short electron bunches with high peak currents for which a time resolution on the order of 10 fs would be desirable, both the TDS and magnetic energy spectrometer have intrinsic limitations on the attainable resolution. In this paper, we discuss the fundamental limitations on both the time and energy resolution, and how these quantities are connected.