PARAMETRIC STUDY OF AN X-RAY FEL

An FEL utilizing a high energy, high current and low emittance beam to produce radiation shorter than 2 Angstrom is investigated in this pap er. This device is an extension of the previously proposed 40 Angstrom Linac Coherent Light Source based on the Stanford linear accelerator. Here we investigate the performance characteristics and parameter sen sitivities of this single pass, high gain FEL amplifier operating by s elf-amplified spontaneous emission (SASE). We begin by comparing vario us approaches to this short wavelength source and justify our choice o f a helical undulator operating on the fundamental frequency. Numerica l simulations as well as extensions of previous studies are used to sh ow performance as a function of undulator parameters, startup noise, e mittance, focusing, current and energy spread. Further studies and par ameter modifications are proposed where needed.