Design of a prototype split-and-delay unit for XFEL pulses, and their evaluation by synchrotron radiation X-rays.

A prototype split-and-delay unit (SDU) for X-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) pulses is proposed based on the Graeff-Bonse four-Bragg-reflection interferometer by installing 12.5° slopes. The SDU can continuously provide a delay time from approximately -20 to 40 ps with a resolution of less than 26 fs. Because the SDU was constructed from a monolithic silicon crystal, alignment is straightforward. The obtained thoroughputs of the SDU reached 0.7% at 7.46 keV and 0.02% at 14.92 keV. The tunability of the delay time using the proposed SDU was demonstrated by finding the interference effects of the split X-rays, and the time resolution of the proposed SDU was evaluated using the width of the interference pattern recorded on the X-ray charge-coupled device camera by changing the energy, i.e. longitudinal coherence length, of the incident X-rays. It is expected that the proposed SDU will be applicable to XFEL experiments using delay times from tens of femtoseconds to tens of picoseconds, e.g. intensity correlation measurements.

Intensity correlation measurement system by picosecond single shot soft x-ray laser.

We developed a new soft x-ray speckle intensity correlation spectroscopy system by use of a single shot high brilliant plasma soft x-ray laser. The plasma soft x-ray laser is characterized by several picoseconds in pulse width, more than 90% special coherence, and 10(11) soft x-ray photons within a single pulse. We developed a Michelson type delay pulse generator using a soft x-ray beam splitter to measure the intensity correlation of x-ray speckles from materials and succeeded in generating double coherent x-ray pulses with picosecond delay times. Moreover, we employed a high-speed soft x-ray streak camera for the picosecond time-resolved measurement of x-ray speckles caused by double coherent x-ray pulse illumination. We performed the x-ray speckle intensity correlation measurements for probing the relaxation phenomena of polarizations in polarization clusters in the paraelectric phase of the ferroelectric material BaTiO(3) near its Curie temperature and verified its performance.