Free-electron laser
Laser using electron beam in vacuum as gain medium
Free-electron laser
A free-electron laser (FEL) is a fourth-generation light source producing extremely brilliant and short pulses of radiation. An FEL functions much as a laser but employs relativistic electrons as a gain medium instead of using stimulated emission from atomic or molecular excitations. In an FEL, a bunch of electrons passes through a magnetic structure called an undulator or wiggler to generate radiation, which re-interacts with the electrons to make them emit coherent light, exponentially increasing its intensity. As electron kinetic energy and undulator parameters are adaptable, free-electron lasers can be tuned and can offer a wider frequency range than any other type of laser, with wavelengths ranging from microwaves through terahertz radiation and infrared, to the visible spectrum, ultraviolet, and X-ray. The first free-electron laser was developed by John Madey in 1971 at Stanford University using technology developed by Hans Motz and his coworkers, who built an undulator at Stanford...
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