Echo-enabled harmonic generation for seeded FELs

In the x-ray wavelengths, the two leading FEL concepts are the self-amplified spontaneous emission (SASE) configuration and the high-gain harmonic generation (HGHG) scheme. While the radiation from a SASE FEL is coherent transversely, it typically has rather limited temporal coherence. Alternatively, the HGHG scheme allows generation of fully coherent radiation by up-converting the frequency of a high-power seed laser. However, due to the relatively low up-frequency conversion efficiency, multiple stages of HGHG FEL are needed in order to generate x-rays from a UV laser. The up-frequency conversion efficiency can be greatly improved with the recently proposed echo-enabled harmonic generation (EEHG) technique. In this work we will present the concept of EEHG, and address some practically important issues that affect the performance of the seeding. We show how the EEHG can be incorporated in the FEL scheme and what is the expected performance of the EEHG seeded FEL. We will then briefly describe the first proof-of-principle EEHG experiment carried out at the Next Linear Collider Test Accelerator (NLCTA) at SLAC. We will also discuss latest advances in the echo-scheme approach, and refer to subsequent modifications of the original concept.