Start current and gain measurements for a Smith-Purcell free-electron laser

Coherent Smith-Purcell radiation is a promising source of coherent emission in the THz domain. Although it has been observed in several experiments, some physical quantities related to the bunching of an initially continuous beam had not yet been studied experimentally. Among them, the gain as function of beam current, together with the value of the start current, needed to be addressed. We report here their measurements in a microwave experiment using a sheet beam. A start current of about 20  A/m was found. Two-dimensional simulations with a very thin beam agree well with our results.