We present new diagnostics for use in optical laser pump - X-ray Free Electron Laser (XFEL) probe experiments to monitor dimensions, intensity profile and focusability of the XFEL beam and to control initial quality and homogeneity of targets to be driven by optical laser pulse. By developing X-ray imaging, based on the use of an LiF crystal detector, we were able to measure the distribution of energy inside a hard X-ray beam with unprecedented high spatial resolution (~1 mm) and across a field of view larger than some millimetres. This diagnostic can be used in situ, provides a very high dynamic range, has an extremely limited cost, and is relatively easy to be implemented in pumpprobe experiments. The proposed methods were successfully applied in pump-probe experiments at the SPring-8 Angstrom Compact free electron LAser (SACLA) XFEL facility and its potential was demonstrated for current and future High Energy Density Science experiments.

A fully coherent free electron laser (FEL) seeded with a higher-order harmonic (HH) pulse from high-order harmonic generation (HHG) is successfully operated for a sufficiently prolonged time in pilot user experiments by using a timing drift feedback. For HHG-seeded FELs, the seeding laser pulses have to be synchronized with electron bunches. Despite seeded FELs being non-chaotic light sources in principle, external laser-seeded FELs are often unstable in practice because of a timing jitter and a drift between the seeding laser pulses and the accelerated electron bunches. Accordingly, we constructed a relative arrival-timing monitor based on non-invasive electro-optic sampling (EOS). The EOS monitor made uninterrupted shot-to-shot monitoring possible even during the seeded FEL operation. The EOS system was then used for arrival-timing feedback with an adjustability of 100 fs for continual operation of the HHG-seeded FEL. Using the EOS-based beam drift controlling system, the HHG-seeded FEL was operated over half a day with an effective hit rate of 20%–30%. The output pulse energy was 20 mJ at the 61.2 nm wavelength. Towards seeded FELs in the water window region, we investigated our upgrade plan to seed high-power FELs with HH photon energy of 30–100 eV and lase at shorter wavelengths of up to 2 nm through high-gain harmonic generation (HGHG) at the energy-upgraded SPring-8 Compact SASE Source (SCSS) accelerator. We studied a benefit as well as the feasibility of the next HHG-seeded FEL machine with single-stage HGHG with tunability of a lasing wavelength.

分析了X射线自由电子激光装置对飞秒同步定时系统的技术需求。系统中采用光纤来传输定时/相位信息。而光纤的光长度会随温度的慢漂而改变，因此通过对比实验研究了温度慢漂对光纤长度变化的影响。研制了基于现场可编程门阵列（FPGA）的数字化相位和幅度检测器对光纤长度变化进行数据监测。百米光纤在典型昼夜温差下导致的时间延迟约6 ps。结果显示此数字化相位和幅度检测器可以用于飞秒同步定时系统的长度变化监测和稳定控制系统当中。