Daresbury Laboratory is currently building an Energy Recovery Linac Prototype (ERLP) that serves as a testbed for the study of beam dynamics and accelerator technology important for the design and construction of the proposed 4th Generation Light Source (4GLS) project. Two major objectives for the ERLP are the operation of an oscillator infra-red FEL and demonstration of energy recovery from an electron bunch with an energy spread induced by the FEL. In this paper we present start-to-end simulations including the FEL of the ERLP. The beam dynamics in the high-brightness injector, which consists of a DC photocathode gun and a super-conducting booster, have been modelled using the particle tracking code ASTRA. After the main linac, in which the particles are accelerated to 35 MeV, particles have been tracked with the code ELEGANT. The 3D code GENESIS was used to model the FEL interaction with the electron beam. Different modes of operation and their impact on the design of the ERLP are discussed.

4GLS is a multi-user, multi-source facility proposed for construction at Daresbury Laboratory in the UK. By exploiting super-conducting linac technology with energy recovery, it will combine three free electron lasers and a range of conventional synchrotron radiation sources covering the THz to SXR region. The facility will provide femtosecond pulses at high repetition rate, with the FELs delivering GW power in the VUV and XUV region. This paper discusses the options and challenges for the optical systems associated with the suite of photon sources. The beamlines will need to operate both independently and in flexible, synchronised combinations. Together with the requirements for preserving the ultra-bright, fast pulse properties, this places unique demands on the design, layout and operational modes. The paper summarises current technical achievements and identifies the research and development necessary before detailed design of the 4GLS optical systems.