Post by DESY

A big achievement: DESY, European XFEL, and University of Hamburg scientists have managed to apply a technique similar to than behind optical lasers to improve the laser qualities of an X-ray free-electron laser. The results are published in the latest issue of Nature Magazine. The X-ray free-electron laser oscillator (XFELO), which was likewise announced at this week's European XFEL and DESY Photon Science User Meeting, uses two diamond mirrors to briefly trap and then amplify the X-ray light flashes at the end of the structure in which they are generated. The amplification takes place in part because of further interaction between the reflecting X-ray flashes and the electron bunches from the facility's accelerator. The result? A cleaner, sharper X-ray pulse with a more defined beginning and end point. The improved pulses would make fine details of the nanocosmos even more visible. "With every round trip, the noise in the X-ray pulse gets less and the concentrated light more defined. It gets more stable and you start to see this single, clear frequency – this spike," says Patrick Rauer, DESY scientist and first author on the paper. Read more about the team's work here: https://lnkd.in/dQuSj_25