Scheme for stabilization of output power of an x-ray self-amplified spontaneous emission free-electron laser

Output stability of an XFEL setup is naturally linked to the stability of the linac rf system through the bunch compression process. This fact leads to very tight tolerances for rf amplitudes and phases. We propose a feedback scheme using an optically modulated electron beam where the compression factor is self-stabilized due to the action of longitudinal space charge fields. Our scheme allows loosening rf tolerances by an order of magnitude. Alternatively, for the same variations of rf parameters, stability of the FEL pulse energy could be improved by an order of magnitude.