We present experimental results on tuning of the HGHG FEL output wavelength while holding the input seed wavelength constant. Using compression of the initially chirped beam in the HGHG dispersion section we have measured the wavelength shift of about 1% around the nominal value of 266 nm. The tuning range is expected to reach 3 % after the dispersive section upgrade at the DUV FEL. An optimized design based on this principle, using additional linac sections, would have the capability of providing full tunability.

High Gain Harmonic Generation (HGHG), because it produces longitudinally coherent pulses derived from a coherent seed, presents remarkable possibilities for manipulating FEL pulses. If spectral phase modulation imposed on the seed modulates the spectral phase of the HGHG in a deterministic fashion, then chirped pulse amplification, pulse shaping, and coherent control experiments at short wavelengths become possible. In addition, the details of the “transfer function” will likely depend on electron beam and radiator dynamics and so prove to be a useful tool for studying these. Using the DUVFEL at the National Synchrotron Light Source at Brookhaven National Laboratory, we present spectral phase analyses of both coherent HGHG and incoherent SASE ultraviolet FEL radiation, applying Spectral Interferometry for Direct Electric Field Reconstruction (SPIDER), and assess the potential for employing compression and shaping techniques.

Electrostatic Accelerator FELs have the capacity to generate long pulses of tens microseconds and more, that in principle can be elongated indefinitely (CW operation). This allows the generation of very coherent radiation. The fundamental linewidth is extremely narrow [1], and in practice the spectral width is limited by the pulse duration (Fourier transform limit) and e-beam stability. Practical problems such as the accelerator terminal voltage drop due to a non-ideal electron beam transport may reduce the length of the radiation pulse and hence create a limiting factor for coherence measurement. The current status of the Israeli Tandem Electrostatic Accelerator FEL allows the generation of pulses of tens microseconds duration. It has been operated recently past saturation, and produces single mode coherent radiation of relative linewidth ~Δf/f=10-5 at frequencies near 100GHz. A clear frequency chirp is observed during pulses of tens of microseconds (0.1-1 MHz/mS), and is directly proportional to the voltage drop rate of the High-Voltage terminal. We will report experimental studies of the spectral linewidth and chirp characteristics of the radiation, along with theory and numerical simulations, carried out using space-frequency model [2], matching the experimental data.