Generating X-rays with orbital angular momentum in free-electron laser oscillator

The generation of light beams carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM) from a free-electron laser at short wavelengths has attracted considerable attention as a key resource in several fields and applications. Herein, we present a facile method to generate intense and coherent OAM beams from an X-ray free-electron laser oscillator (XFELO). We use the Bragg crystal as both a reflector as well as mode selector, in both longitudinal and transverse modes, which enables the specified resonance deviation that maximizes the single-pass gain of the high-order OAM mode of interest. This can allow the amplification and saturation of OAM beams in a typical XFELO configuration. Our results show that 150~$μ$J fully coherent, hard-X-ray pulses carrying first-order OAM can be generated without utilizing any external elements such as optical mode converters or elliptically polarized undulators. This simple and straightforward method can pave the way for the further customization of the transverse-mode operation of X-ray free-electron laser oscillators.

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