Lasers , Free - Electron

Free-electron lasers are radiation sources, based on the coherent emission of synchrotron radiation of relativistic electrons within an undulator or wiggler. The resonant radiation wavelength depends on the electron beam energy and can be tuned over the entire spectrum from micrometer to X-ray radiation. The emission level of free-electron lasers is several orders of magnitude larger than the emission level of spontaneous synchrotron radiation, because the interaction between the electron beam and the radiation field modulates the beam current with the periodicity of the resonant radiation wavelength. The high brightness and the spectral range of this kind of radiation source allows studying physical and chemical processes on a femtosecond scale with angstrom resolution.