5th issue · www.eurofel.eu

Invitation

Two-beam hologram encoding two images of the test object taken 50fs apart, see page 2.

FEL science takes off
International collaboration is essential
Science at X-ray free electron lasers (FEL)

The growing interest in the science com-

has gained enormous momentum duringmunity goes along with heavy overbooking

the last years. About 200 research projectsof experimental stations, but has also driven

have been conducted so far at the first two

the extension of existing and the construc-facilities of this kind, FLASH in Germany

tion of new facilities worldwide. At this point,

and LCLS in the US, that have been in rou-close international collaboration is crucial:tine user operation since 2005 and 2009,

collaboration of user groups in order torespectively. They resulted in numerous

maximize their use of the limited number ofpublications in high-impact journals, andexperimental stations for specific researchseveral made it on cover pages of the pres-areas, collaboration of facility operators totigious Nature journals and Physical Review

advance the technology in an efficient way

Letters.

and to provide state-of-the-art facilities forthe science community, and close interac-

New FEL facilities in Italy (FERMI) and Ja-tion between the facilities and the userpan (SACLA) have recently become opera-

community to promote new developments

tional, demonstrating the maturity of single-

and to balance demand and supply.

pass free electron lasers together with sig-

Science at FELs, a SRI 2012 Satellite
Meeting, is jointly organized by DESY
and European XFEL from July 15-18,
2012 in Hamburg. A number of freeelectron laser facilities for the VUV andhard X-ray range are now in operation in
Asia, Europe and the US, and theirperformance exceeds the initially
proposed radiation properties.
The meeting will present sciencehighlights achieved in the first sevenyears of operation of short-wavelength
FELs. Applications from quantum optics
to life sciences and systems from atoms
to complex solids will be featured. A
focus will also be placed on new
directions in science at FELs andchallenges to scientific instrumentation.
Visits of the FLASH facility at DESY andthe European XFEL construction site will
be included in the meeting programme.
New FEL schemes are emerging andwill lead to further improvements inperformance. A workshop to discuss
new science opportunities using seeded
FEL radiation at the European XFEL will
follow the Science at FELs Meeting from
July 19-20, 2012.
All the best,
Elke Plönjes
for the local organising committee

nificant advancements in FEL technology.

In this regard, an important milestone will

This tremendous success has established X-

be the signing of a memorandum of under-

ray FELs as new research tools comple-

standing between EuroFEL partners andmenting optical lasers and synchrotron ra-

the European XFEL. The MoU is based on

diation sources and opening new research

the core activities defined by EuroFEL’s

Scientific Highlights ...........................02

opportunities for a wide range of scientificpreparatory phase project, IRUVX-PP; the

FEL Projects in Europe.......................03

disciplines, including physics, chemistry,

signing of the document is planned at theInternational Cooperations.................06

materials and life science.

ERF meeting at DESY end of May. JF

Interaction with Users.........................08

IN THIS ISSUE

EuroFEL is part of the ESFRI Roadmap since 2006; its preparatory phase (IRUVX-PP) prepared the establishment of the
EuroFEL Consortium to link FEL & SPS facilities in Europe closer together and was funded by the European Commission
under FP7 from April 2008 to March 2011. Some results were taken up in the EC funded projects Pandata & PaNdataODI.
EuroFEL became partner in the EC funded cluster of research infrastructures for synergies in physics-CRISP. info@eurofel.eu

2Scientific Highlights

Femtosecond sequential X-ray imaging

Femtosecond snapshot imaging is well establishedat Free Electron Lasers. How about ultrafast image
sequences as in a movie?
X-ray Free Electron Lasers (FELs) provide bright femtosecond
pulses at short wavelength. Snapshot X-ray imaging of ultrafast
processes on short length scales is thus an obvious application,
which is currently opening new scientific fields. Beyond a single
image, time resolved spatial information can be obtained inpump-probe experiments for triggerable, deterministic processes.
A complementary approach of recording independent images
with only femtosecond separation was demonstrated recently atmental read-out time limitations of 2D detectors required for

FLASH 1.

image formation, as no readout in between the subsequent scattering events is necessary. In the future, the method will allow theHolography allows to encode more than one image in a single

investigation of untriggered and not necessarily repetitivehologram – on the order of a dozen images per single shot expo-

dynamics on the nanoscale.

sure have been recorded via Fourier Transform Holography at
FLASH and LCLS so far. In conjunction with a two-pulse illumi-

Beyond optical schemes to split and delay the photon beam, FEL

nation of a test object via splitting and delaying a single FEL

accelerator based approaches to generate staggered electron

pulse, a particular variant of this trick was exploited to encode

bunches in the pico- and femtosecond regime may be an effi-

images of a test object seen at two illumination times in one holo-

cient way to generate the required consecutive X-ray pulses,

gram. In this fashion, two independent images were recorded only

possibly allowing for more image frames or even multi-color

50 fs apart and stored in a single exposure on a CCD camera

experiments in the future 2. SE(see figure) mapping the temporal illumination sequence into a
modulation pattern in the hologram. This circumvents the funda-

1 C. M. Günther et al., Nature Photonics 5, 99 (2011).
2 B. Pfau et al., New J. Phys 12, 095006 (2010).

Tackling the ultimate time scale of magnetization dynamics
Resonant magnetic small angle scattering pump–probe type

ECR and magnetron sputtering on free-standing silicon nitride

experiments have been conducted at FLASH (DESY, Hamburg)

membranes 3. The samples show an out-of-plane magnetic ani-and the LCLS (SLAC, Stanford, US) SXR beamline. After firstsotropy with alternating up and down domains with an averageprosperous proof of principle experiments at FLASH showing thewidth in the range of 100 nm. Prior to the FEL measurements an

feasibility to detect non-destructively magnetic scattering at FEL

isotropic maze domain state is prepared by out-of-plane demagnetization. In the pump–probe experiments the unrivaled highbrilliance of the FEL together with the intrinsically short pulse
length allowed for the first time to study ultra-fast dynamics 4 in
the magnetic system not only in the temporal but also in thespatial domain. Valuable information about the demagnetization process could be derived.
The experiments were accomplished in a large collaboration
between DESY, HZB, Technical University Berlin, University of
Hamburg, University Pierre and Marie Curie (Paris), Laboratoire

sources at the L (778 eV) as well as at the M edges (59 eV) ofd’optique appliquée (Palaiseau), ETH Zürich, and SLAC. LM/GG

the transition metal element Cobalt, 1, 2 a pump–probe scheme
could be setup using an IR-femtosecond laser synchronized to

1 C. Gutt et al., Phys. Rev. B 79, 212406 (2009).

the FEL as a pump and the FEL as a probe (see figure). As sam-

2 C. Gutt et al., Phys. Rev. B 81, 100401(R) 2010.

ples we used thin Cobalt/Platinum multilayers deposited via

4 E. Beaurepaire et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 76, 4250 (1996).

3 M. Wellhöfer et al., J. Magn. Magn. Mater. 292, 345 (2005).

FEL Projects in Europe

Recent developments at Daresbury Laboratory / United Kingdom
The coherent infrared light of ALICE was combined with a Scan-

http://www.stfc.ac.uk/ASTeC/News+and+events/38145.aspx

ning Near-field Optical Microscope to take images of diseased
cells demonstrating a potential means of spotting early stage
oesophageal cancer. Spatial variations in DNA spectra show diseased cells may be detectable leading to improved diagnosis
and prognosis. A new superconducting RF cavity with a highquality factor optimised for applications on energy recovery
linacs (ERLs) will be tested on ALICE in the coming year. Construction has begun for an Electron Beam Test Facility, EBTF,
aimed at developing new technologies that could revolutionise
cost and compactness of accelerator-based systems. This could
also form the front end of a future FEL test facility – CLARA. GBW

The LUNEX5 project / France
LUNEX5 (free electron Laser Using a New accelerator for the

including in-vacuum undulators with two accelerators: a 400 MeV

Exploitation of X-ray radiation of 5th generation), a new advanced

linac or a 0.4-1 GeV laser wake field accelerator, and experimental

FEL project proposed by a consortium of laboratories in France,

stations for time-resolved pilot user experiments on gas phaseaims at investigating the production of ultra-short (fs), intense, andspecies and magnetic samples. After completion of the conceptual

coherent pulses in the soft X-ray region (20 - 4 nm). It consists of adesign report followed by a project review, complementary studies

single FEL line designed for the seeded configuration (high order

to be coupled to further R&D activities have been started. MEC

harmonic in gas seeding and echo enabled harmonic generation)

LUNEX5 (SOLEIL test facility, France)

FERMI & Seeding / Italy

SwissFEL / Switzerland

The first call for experiments at the FERMI@Elettra Free Electron

An important political milestone for the realization of the new

Laser, run by Sincrotrone Trieste and located in Italy, was issued

SwissFEL facility was reached on the 23th of August 2011, thelast December 2011, providing the users with a novel and unique“Grossrat” of the Kanton Aargau voted in favour of the SwissFEL

light source. It operates in the extreme ultra-violet wavelengthbuilding site. This means that the legally valid building permit for

range with unprecedented spectral and temporal stability, andSwissFEL can be expected by the end of May 2012. The projecttransverse and longitudinal coherence, generating close-to-trans-

is progressing well. The new SwissFEL facility will open the door

form-limited pulses, carrying tens of microjoules, in the spectral

to discoveries in many areas of current research that cannot berange between 60 and 20 nm. The FERMI free-electron laser isobtained using existing methods, and will also provide the basis

based on the so-called high-gain harmonic generation configura-for a vast range of technical and scientific developments.

tion in which an external laser is used to initiate the emission process overcoming typical limitations of schemes based on self-amplified spontaneous emission: a ground-breaking achievement thatpierces the frontiers for the next generation light sources. EA/LBPThe collection of user input for the design of the initial set of
instruments at the SwissFEL hard X-ray „ARAMIS“ undulator

4

FEL Projects in Europe

FLASH2 under construction / Germany
beamline was started with two scientific workshops on hard

In September 2011 the civil construction for the second FEL

X-ray instrumentation with the SwissFEL, held in 2011. The firstbeamline FLASH 2 at DESY has started, requiring a 3.5 months

workshop concentrated on spectroscopic experiments, and the

shutdown of FLASH until the end of 2011 and a 1.5 months shut-second workshop focused on scattering and diffraction experi-

down of the PETRA storage ring at the beginning of 2012. The

ments. The results of the workshops are available under http://

construction work is now pressing ahead without major disrup-

www.psi.ch/swissfel/swissfel-workshops. The next step in thetion of FLASH and PETRA III operation during 2012. A second

instrument design process will be four focused workshops, to be

FLASH shutdown is scheduled for early 2013, when the existing

held at PSI. MvD

FLASH accelerator is connected to the new FLASH2 undulator
beamline. The goal is to complete the new tunnel and install its

The MAX IV project, the Short Pulse Facility and
FEL development / Sweden

major components until spring 2013 and be ready for first experi-

In Lund in Sweden MAX-lab is transformed into the MAX IV labora-

The extension of FLASH will in the future double the number of

tory with the construction of the ultralow emittance ring MAX IV.

endstations and the throughput of experiments, and new beamMore interesting from a EuroFEL perspective is the full energy

qualities will become available. The new science opportunities

linac injector and the Short Pulse Facility (SPF) (see figure).

were discussed with the user community on a three day work-ments in 2014.

shop with over 150 participants in October 2011 (https://indico.
The SPF will use pulses from the linac compressed to 100 fs. The

desy.de/conferenceDisplay.py?confId=4425). The main part ofphoton energy range will be 2-20 keV and the flux 10 9 photons/s inthe workshop was devoted to new scientific achievements at

1% bandwith (better than slicing sources). The focus of this source

FLASH and novel ideas for FLASH instrumentation and experi-

is structural dynamics with the fundamental timescale of a vibration

mental setups, which were presented by the user community inperiod.

20 contributed talks and a poster session with over 40 contributions. A special focus was given to proposals for long-term

The construction of the MAX IV is well under way. The linac tunnel

experimental end stations of user collaborations. EP/JF

and SPF hall are taking form. The tunnel will be completed andaccelerator installations commence in mid 2013.

Schematic layout of the SPF undulator and experimental hall for the MAX IV
laboratory.

FLASH 2 construction in November 2011. Meanwhile this part is completed, theold tunnel (on the left, with the experimental hall in the back) covered again withsand and the FLASH 1 FEL is back in operation. http://flash2.desy.de

The injector in the MAX IV is also designed such that it can beused for a FEL. A plan for the continued development is currently

European XFEL construction in full swing

being outlined. The department for accelerator physics at Lund
University and the MAX IV laboratory will start design work for a

The construction of the European XFEL is progressing rapidly.

FEL on the linac. In parallel the MAX IV laboratory, the Lund Laser

End of February 2012 the 2 km long accelerator tunnel wasCenter (LLC) and the FEL center in Stockholm-Uppsala will jointly

handed over by the construction company and infrastructurecommence the study for a scientific case of FELs in Sweden. SW

installation has been started. Until summer 2012 the tunnelingwork will be completed and shafts and surface buildings will follow.
The accelerator module test facility (AMTF) will start operation in
2012. Here testing of the niobium accelerator cavities and of theassembled accelerator modules will take place and the wave
guide systems will be installed on the accelerator modules.
Pre-series undulator segments have arrived for magnetic measurement and the series production of undulator segments starts early
2012. Three development projects for 2D area detectors dedicatedto high repetition rate X-ray FEL experiments passed intermediate
review and have entered now the prototype phase.

FELBE, the IR-FEL at HZDR, Dresden, Germany

With new project parameters, based on an improved electron

for FELBE). The pulse energies are in the 1-100 µJ range. All

beam emittance (confirmed by measurements at PITZ@DESY

facilities offer tabletop laser systems synchronized to the FELs

and LCLS) and flexible electron bunch duration, the European

for two-color experiments. To mention some specific features,
FELICE is dedicated to high-power intra-cavity experiments, theterahertz laser FLARE (100 – 1500 µm) will also operate in a
spectroscopic mode with µs-long pulses offering a spectral resolution of Δλ/λ < 10 -5. FELBE is the only facility able to operate ina quasi-cw mode, with a continuous pulse train at 13 MHz repetition rate. Furthermore, the Dutch facility and FELBE are connected
to high-magnetic-field laboratories which provide static andpulsed magnetic fields up to 35 T and 70 T, respectively, and are
partners in the ESFRI Roadmap project EMFL (www.emfl.eu).
Typical experiments at the infrared FELs range from pump-probe

Survey works in February 2012 in one of the future undulator tunnels of theEuropean XFEL after completion of civil construction.

XFEL will now span an even larger photon energy range, fromthe carbon K-edge to very hard X-rays beyond 20 keV, and will
enable time resolved studies from single femtoseconds to microseconds. Conceptual design reports of the X-ray beam transportand four of the prioritized six instruments have been published in2011 and are available on www.xfel.eu under Technical Reports.
Staffing of the European XFEL GmbH proceeds according toplan and exceeds already 50% of its final target. The overall
schedule foresees the first electron beam in the linear accelerator
in the autumn of 2015 and the start of user operation in 2016. TT

Operating infrared FEL user facilities CLIO, FELIX
and FELBE / France, Netherlands, Germany

The new FELIX layout, Nijmegen, Netherlands

studies in solids (CLIO, FELIX and FELBE) to near-field microscopy (FELBE and CLIO) and molecular dynamics (FELIX and
CLIO). FELIX and FELICE are currently moving from near

All European infrared FEL facilities, namely CLIO near Paris, theUtrecht to Nijmegen (location of FLARE). MH

Dutch facility “FELIX” comprising the free electron lasers FELIX/
FELICE and FLARE, and FELBE at Dresden deliver picosecond

CLIO http://clio.lcp.u-psud.fr/clio_eng/clio_eng.htm

radiation pulses in the mid- and far-infrared spectral range (3 –FELBE www.hzdr.de/felbe

150 µm for CLIO, 3 – 1500 µm for the FELIX facility, 4 – 250 µm

FELIX http://www.differ.nl/felix

6International Cooperations

Status of SACLA: Japanese XFEL facility

FELs at Shanghai Institute of Applied
Physics (SINAP)

The SPring-8 Angstrom Compact free electron LAser

The Shanghai Deep Ultra Violet (SDUV) FEL contin-(SACLA) achieved laser amplification at 10 keV photon

ues to conduct experiments exploring the potential ofenergy on June 7, 2011. This is the world’s second

seeded FEL schemes. The first lasing of the Echo-accomplishment of a X-ray FEL after LCLS at the

Enabled Harmonic Generation (EEHG) FEL was success-

SLAC national accelerator laboratory in the US.

fully achieved on SDUV in 2011. The EEHG proposedby G. Stupakov in 2009 promises significantly larger

SACLA is the first “compact” XFEL facility in the world

bunching factors at high harmonics making it possible

with a total length of 700 m. Three unique technolo-

to generate a large amount of frequency up-conver-gies, a low-emittance thermionic cathode, an 8-GeV

sion starting from the laser seed in a single stage ofC-band linac system, and short-period in-vacuum

harmonic generation. The experimental setup includes

undulators with 18-mm magnetic period, have been

two modulator undulators, two laser seeds and a longcombined for realizing this concept. Notably, SACLA isundulator section as the radiator. The FEL signals

adjacent to the SPring-8 synchrotron radiation facility;

produced by EEHG especially the spectral properties

SACLA XFEL radiation and SPring-8 undulator X-rays

are carefully distinguished from the typical HGHG FEL

can be simultaneously guided onto samples, and theoutput.

SACLA linac is capable of serving as a low-emittanceelectron beam injector to the SPring-8 storage ring.

The design of the Shanghai Soft X-ray Free Electron
Laser (SXFEL) has well advanced in 2011. The con-

SACLA lasing was achieved only three months after

struction will start mid-2012. The facility will be built

the first injection of the electron beam to the accelerator.

next to the existing Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation

Experiences at the SPring-8 Compact SASE Source

Facility, a 3.5 GeV third generation light source. With(SCSS) with 250 MeV beam energy, which was built ina total length of 295 meters, SXFEL consists of a photo-2005 as a prototype of SACLA, played crucial roles forinjector, an electron linac with S-band and C-band

realizing this launch.

structures, an undulator array and a beamline for FEL
diagnostics. The commissioning is scheduled in 2015.

SACLA starts user operation in March 2012. In the

DWperiod 2012A (March to July), 25 proposals fromdomestic/international universities, research institutes,
and industry will be conducted. In parallel with user
operation, SACLA will continue to upgrade the performance (expansion of wavelength range, seeding,increase of beamline number etc.), to develop novel
experimental methodologies, and to cultivate scientificfrontiers. MY

SXFEL is a test FEL facility in the soft X-ray regime.

Aerial view of SACLA at the SPring-8 site.

3-site XFEL meeting at SACLAOn October 31 – November 2, 2011, the 4th XFEL 3-site
meeting was organized by SACLA, the new Japanese XFEL
at the SPring-8 site. The main objective of these regularcollaboration meetings is to exchange experience in design,
construction and operation of X-ray Free Electron Lasers(XFEL) and to initiate specific activities addressing common
issues in electron beam dynamics and start-to-end simulations, electron and photon beam diagnostics, synchronizationand stabilization, high precision optics, seeding and otherareas. For the first time, also the new XFEL projects in Korea(PAL XFEL) and Switzerland (SwissFEL) participated in themeeting and presented the status of their projects. The next
meeting will take place in the United States. JF

LCLS-II moves forward
Building on the success of the world’s most powerful X-ray

involved in chemical and biological processes, peer

laser – the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), whose

inside thick three-dimensional materials, and see

beams are a billion times brighter than any other X-ray light

intricate details of the structure of macromolecularsource – SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in the US is

assemblies and the evolution of orientational andplanning an upgrade, LCLS-II, which will enhance and ex-

crystallographic order from atomic disorder. It will also

pand the facility’s avenues for scientific discovery.

set the stage for increasing the intensity of the X-ray
laser pulses 20-fold with control of pulse length and

The LCLS is in such high demand that only one out of fourpolarization. We expect to whittle the pulse length

experimental proposals can be approved. By adding two new

down to about 1 femtosecond without loss of intensity.

X-ray laser beams and room for four new instruments, LCLS-IIwill triple the number of experiments run per year. Long-term

Current plans call for defining the project’s cost andplans call for additional expansion through 2025, accommo-

schedule and starting construction of the LCLS-II

dating up to 2,000 scientists per year at up to a dozen

Injector Complex in 2012. Fiscal year 2013 would see

experimental stations.

construction start on undulators and technicalhardware and the awarding of a contract for tunnel

LCLS-II will provide an expanded range of X-ray wave-

construction. User assisted commissioning is projected

lengths, allowing researchers to home in on carbon atoms

to begin by summer 2019. GC

8Interaction with Users

UPCOMING EVENTSCALL FOR PROPOSALSFERMI@Elettra
For user period: 1 July – 30 December 2012.
Deadline: March 30th, 2012
http://www.elettra.trieste.it/UserOffice/index.

Joint users meeting of the European XFEL and DESY’s lightsources with 680 participants
About 680 participants from 28 countries attended the annual joint European
XFEL and DESY HASYLAB Users’ Meeting on 25–27 January 2012 in
Hamburg, a new record. In a 3-day programme, current and future users of

php?n=Main.FermiDeadlineForProposalSubmission
CRISP 1st Annual Meeting,23 – 24 April, 2012, FORTH,
Heraklion, Greek
http://www.crisp-fp7.eu/

the DESY light sources FLASH, DORIS and PETRA III and of the X-ray laser

The Socio-Economic Relevance ofEuropean XFEL met to discuss new developments and opportunities.

Research Infrastructures
ERF Workshop

On the first day, Massimo Altarelli, Chairman of the European XFEL Management Board, and team leaders updated on the progress of the European
XFEL construction. European XFEL scientists presented the central pointsof their conceptual design reports for the planned four scientific instruments
and the X-ray beam transport systems and discussed their ideas with theaudience. A science session in the afternoon focused on applications of
FELs towards structural biology.

31 May – 01 June 2012, DESY Hamburg,
Germany
http://erf.desy.de/workshop/
The 4th Intern. WS on Metrology for X-ray
Optics, Mirror design & Fabrication
SRI 2012 Satellite Meeting4 – 6 July 2012, Barcelona, Spain
http://iwxm.cells.es

The second day started with status reports of three FEL facilities: FLASHand its ongoing extension in Hamburg, Germany, the new X-ray FEL SACLA
in Japan and the first seeded FEL FERMI at ELETTRA in Italy. Then representatives of different user groups presented recent results they had
obtained in different science areas at FLASH in Hamburg and LCLS in
Stanford, US.

X-Ray Detectors
SRI 2012 Satellite Meeting
5 – 7 July 2012, Zurich, Switzerland
www.psi.ch/csx2012
SRI 2012
9 – 13 July 2012, Lyon, France

The last day featured a poster session with 300 posters, about 75 of them on
FEL science, and a vendor exhibition with 60 companies. UK/JF
E. Allaria presenting the status of FERMI@Elettra on the users meeting

http://sri2012.org/
Science at FELs
SRI 2012 Satellite Meeting
15 – 18 July 2012, DESY / European XFEL,
Hamburg, Germany
www.science-at-FELs-2012.desy.de
Science with seeded FEL beams
19 – 20 July 2012, European XFEL,
Hamburg, Germany
https://indico.desy.de/conferenceDisplay.
py?ovw=True&confId=5665
34 th International FEL conference
27 – 31 August 2012, Nara, Japan
http://fel2012.spring8.or.jp/

IMPRINT
Publisher: Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, IRUVX-PP Project Coordinator | Notkestr. 85 | 22607 Hamburg | Germany
Contact: info@eurofel.eu | www.eurofel.eu | phone +49 40 8998 4508
Contributors: Enrico Allaria, Graham Bushnell-Wye, Glennda Chui, Marie Emmanuelle Couprie, Mirjam van Daalen, Stefan Eisebitt, Josef Feldhaus (V.i.S.d.P.), Gerhard Grübel, Manfred Helm,
Monika Illenseer, Ute Krell, Leonard Müller, Laura Bibi Palatini, Elke Plönjes, Georg Schmalstieg, Thomas Tschentscher, Dong Wang, Sverker Werin, Makina Yabashi
Images: page 1 S. Eisebitt; page 2/3 S. Eisebitt, L. Müller, PSI, FERMI, STFC, SOLEIL; page 4/5 MAX-lab, DESY, European XFEL, HZDR, DIFFER; page 6/7 Spring-8, SINAP, SLAC; page 8
DESY

Partners of IRUVX-PP – the preparatory phase of EuroFEL