The optical modes in a free-electron laser are examined by following the evolution of the optical field envelope self-consistently over many passes. After normal saturation in strong optical fields, the oscillation of trapped electrons causes the laser to become unstable and create sidebands. In some cases the mixing of modes is highly non-linear, and the optical field spectrum becomes broadband and chaotic.

Date Published: 16 February 1984
PDF: 7 pages
Proc. SPIE 0453, Free-Electron Generators of Coherent Radiation, (16 February 1984); doi: 10.1117/12.947110

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 0453:
Free-Electron Generators of Coherent Radiation
Charles A. Brau; Stephen F. Jacobs; Marlan O. Scully, Editor(s)