Facilities: XFEL & Synchrotrons

Recently, the development of the 4th generation X-ray sources, the Free Electron Lasers (FEL), has succeeded in coupling really exciting aspects of synchrotron radiation with intense laser properties, giving ultrafast, high intensity laser beams in the X-ray and XUV energetic range. These instruments are characterised by an extremely short pulse length in the order of ~10fs, a tunable photon energy and an ultra high intensity up to 10¹⁷ W/cm2. Such properties are of great interest for geophysics studies. The last five years, the FEL community has demonstrated how effective such an X-ray pulse is as a probe beam. Various diagnostic tools (XANES, XRD, …) were developed, giving rise to new insights into physics and geoscience. The FEL facilities are now equipped with high-energy optical laser system (ns, up to 100J) opening many possibilities for dynamic compression studies with ultrafast pump – probe experiments. 

In addition, synchrotron facilities are now intending to implement high-energy laser and to provide the possibility to use the advanced synchrotron X-ray diagnostics on laser compression studies. This open new perspectives for high precision studies at the hundreds of ps time-scales on extreme conditions. 

© IMPMC - Andy Krygier

SACLA, experimental chamber