Self-Amplification of Coherent Energy Modulation in Seeded Free-Electron Lasers

The spectroscopic techniques for time-resolved fine analysis of matter require coherent x-ray radiation with femtosecond duration and high average brightness. Seeded free-electron lasers (FELs), which use the frequency up-conversion of an external seed laser to improve temporal coherence, are ideal for providing fully coherent soft x-ray pulses. However, it is difficult to operate seeded FELs at a high repetition rate due to the limitations of present state-of-the-art laser systems. Here, we report a novel self-modulation method for enhancing laser-induced energy modulation, thereby significantly reducing the requirement of an external laser system. Driven by this scheme, we experimentally realize high harmonic generation in a seeded FEL using an unprecedentedly small external laser-induced energy modulation. An electron beam with a laser-induced energy modulation as small as 1.8 times the slice energy spread is used for lasing at the seventh harmonic of a 266-nm seed laser in a single-stage high-gain harmonic generation (HGHG) setup and the 30th harmonic of the seed laser in a two-stage HGHG setup. The results mark a major step toward a high-repetition-rate, fully coherent x-ray FEL.