• L. Giannessi, M.C. Carpanese, F. Ciocci, G. Dattoli, A. Dipace, A. Doria, G.P. Gallerano, E. Giovenale, G. Parisi, M. Quattromini, A. Renieri, C. Ronsivalle, E. Sabia, S. Spampinati, I.P. Spassovsky
  ENEA C.R. Frascati, Frascati (Roma)
• D. Alesini, M.E. Biagini, A. Drago, M. Ferrario, V. Fusco, A. Ghigo, B. Spataro, C. Vaccarezza, C. Vicario
  INFN/LNF, Frascati (Roma)
• M. Bougeard, B. Carre, M.-E. Couprie, D. Garzella, M. LABAT, G. Lambert, H. Merdji, P. Salieres
  CEA/Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette
• M. Mattioli, P. Musumeci, M. Petrarca
  Universita di Roma I La Sapienza, Roma
• M.  Migliorati, L. Palumbo
  Rome University La Sapienza, Roma
• M. Nisoli, S. Stagira, S. de Silvestri
  Politecnico/Milano, Milano
• L. P. Poletto, G. T. Tondello
  Univ. degli Studi di Padova, Padova

Funding: Work supported by the EU Commission in the sixth framework programme, contract no. 011935 – EUROFEL.

Sources based on high order harmonics generated in gas with high power Ti:Sa lasers pulses represent promising candidates as seed for FEL amplifiers for several reasons, as spatial and temporal coherence, wavelength tunability and spectral range, which extends down to the 10(-9)m wavelength scale. This communication is devoted to the description of a research work plan that will be implemented at the SPARC FEL facility in the framework of the EUROFEL programme. The main goal of the collaboration is to study and test the amplification and the FEL harmonic generation process of an input seed signal obtained as higher order harmonics generated both in crystal (400nm and 266 nm) and in gas (266nm, 160nm, 114nm) from a high intensity Ti:Sa laser pulse.

• L. Palumbo
  Rome University La Sapienza, Roma
• D. Alesini, M. Bellaveglia, S. Bertolucci, M.E. Biagini, R. Boni, M. Boscolo, M. Castellano, A. Clozza, G. Di Pirro, A. Drago, A. Esposito, M. Ferrario, D. Filippetto, V. Fusco, A. Gallo, A. Ghigo, S. Guiducci, M.  Migliorati, A. Mostacci, L. Pellegrino, M.A. Preger, C. Sanelli, M. Serio, F. Sgamma, B. Spataro, A. Stella, F. Tazzioli, C. Vaccarezza, M. Vescovi, C. Vicario
  INFN/LNF, Frascati (Roma)
• F. Alessandria, A. Bacci
  INFN/LASA, Segrate (MI)
• F. Broggi, S. Cialdi, C. De Martinis, D. Giove, C. Maroli, M. Mauri, V. Petrillo, M. Rome, L. Serafini
  INFN-Milano, Milano
• L. Catani, E. Chiadroni, A. Cianchi, C. Schaerf
  INFN-Roma II, Roma
• F. Ciocci, G. Dattoli, A. Doria, F. Flora, G.P. Gallerano, L. Giannessi, E. Giovenale, G. Messina, P.L. Ottaviani, G. Parisi, L. Picardi, M. Quattromini, A. Renieri, C. Ronsivalle
  ENEA C.R. Frascati, Frascati (Roma)
• P. Emma
  SLAC, Menlo Park, California
• M. Mattioli
  Universita di Roma I La Sapienza, Roma
• P. Musumeci
  INFN-Roma, Roma
• S. Reiche, J.B. Rosenzweig
  UCLA, Los Angeles, California

The first phase of the SPARX project, now funded by MIUR (Research Department of Italian Government), is an R&D activity focused on developing techniques and critical components for future X-ray FEL facilities. This project is the natural extension of the activities under development within the ongoing SPARC collaboration. The aim is the generation of electron beams characterized by an ultra-high peak brightness with a linear accelerator based on the upgrade of the existing Frascati 800 MeV LINAC and to drive a single pass FEL experiment in the range of 3-5 nm, both in SASE and SEEDED FEL configurations, exploiting the use of superconducting and exotic undulator sections. In this paper we discuss the present status of the collaboration.

• A. Oppelt, K. Abrahamyan, G. Asova, J.W. Baehr, G. Dimitrov, U. Gensch, H.-J. Grabosch, J.H. Han, S. Khodyachykh, G. Klemz, M. Krasilnikov, S. Liu, V. Miltchev, B. Petrosyan, S. Riemann, L. Staykov, F. Stephan
  DESY Zeuthen, Zeuthen
• W. Ackermann, W.F.O. Muller, S. Schnepp, T. Weiland
  TEMF, Darmstadt
• D. Alesini, M. Boscolo, G. Di Pirro, M. Ferrario, D. Filippetto, L. Palumbo, C. Vicario
  INFN/LNF, Frascati (Roma)
• V. Boccone
  Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Berlin
• L. Catani, E. Chiadroni, A. Cianchi
  INFN-Roma II, Roma
• K. Floettmann, S. Schreiber
  DESY, Hamburg
• T. Garvey
  LAL, Orsay
• M.V. Hartrott, E. Jaeschke, D. Kraemer, D. Lipka, F. Marhauser, R. Richter
  BESSY GmbH, Berlin
• P. Michelato, L. Monaco, C. Pagani, D. Sertore
  INFN/LASA, Segrate (MI)
• V.V. Paramonov
  RAS/INR, Moscow
• N. Pavel
  Humboldt University Berlin, Institut für Physik, Berlin
• J.R. Roensch, J. Rossbach
  Uni HH, Hamburg
• W. Sandner, I. Will
  MBI, Berlin
• I. Tsakov
  INRNE, Sofia

Funding: This work has been partly supported by the European Community, contract numbers RII3-CT-2004-506008 and 011935, and by the 'Impuls- und Vernetzungsfonds" of the Helmholtz Association, contract number VH-FZ-05.

Since December 2004, the photo injector test facility at DESY in Zeuthen (PITZ) has been upgraded. A normal conducting copper booster cavity has been installed and the diagnostics beamline has been strongly modified. An extended water cooling system has been installed and was successfully taken into operation. Actually, the new diagnostics elements are being commissioned. After the installation of the new 10 MW klystron in June/July, the gun can be conditioned towards higher average power, and the whole beamline including the booster will be taken into operation. First results from the commissioning phase including gun and booster conditioning are reported.