Modelling undulators in ray tracing simulations

Area of Science:

• Physics
• Optics
• Materials Science

Background:

• Fourth-generation synchrotron sources produce highly coherent X-rays.
• Accurate simulation of undulator radiation is essential for designing X-ray optics.
• Existing ray tracing models may not fully capture advanced source characteristics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a model for accurate simulation of undulator source radiation.
• To incorporate key physical effects relevant to advanced synchrotron sources.
• To integrate this model into the SHADOW4 ray tracing software.

Main Methods:

• Calculating the far-field radiation distribution to determine ray divergences.
• Backpropagating far-field radiation to define source size distribution.
• Integrating existing models for electron energy spread effects.
• Developing the model within the SHADOW4 X-ray optics ray tracing program.

Main Results:

• The model accurately simulates radiation from undulator sources.
• Key effects like electron emittance, energy spread, and diffraction-limited beam size are incorporated.
• Ray divergences are determined by the calculated far-field distribution.
• Source sampling incorporates a size distribution derived from backpropagation.

Conclusions:

• The developed model provides accurate simulations of undulator radiation for ray tracing.
• This advancement is significant for applications using fourth-generation synchrotron sources.
• The integration into SHADOW4 enhances its capability for complex X-ray optics design.