Speaker
Description
Current mid-infrared (MIR) laser sources frequently face limitations including low average power, limited stability, and system complexity. Free-electron lasers (FELs), however, offer significant promise for driving nonlinear optics due to their high repetition rate, high power, and broad wavelength tunability. To leverage these advantages, we introduce a novel four-mirror cavity design for a MIR FEL oscillator, specifically engineered to bridge FEL technology with demanding nonlinear optical experiments， such as high harmonic generation (HHG). This design targets the generation of few-cycle pulses at 6 µm wavelength, achieving peak intra-cavity powers in the few-gigawatt range. By operating the FEL in the superradiant regime, the output pulses prove ideal for initiating strong-field nonlinear processes at the experimental focus. Our study combines comprehensive numerical simulations of the MIR FEL oscillator with modelling gas-phase HHG, establishing a reliable framework to evaluate system performance. This integrated approach opens new avenues for attosecond science and ultrafast spectroscopy, particularly for applications requiring high-flux coherent XUV or shorter-wavelength radiation.