Wavefront sensing of individual XFEL pulses using ptychography

• The characterization of the wavefront dynamics is important for many X-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) experiments, in particular for coherent diffractive imaging (CDI), as the reconstructed image is always the product of the incoming wavefront with the object. An accurate understanding of the wavefront is also important for any experiment wishing to achieve peak power densities, making use of the tightest possible focal spots. With the use of ptychography we demonstrate high-resolution imaging of the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) beam focused at the endstation for Atomic, Molecular and Optical (AMO) experiments, including its phase and intensity at every plane along its propagation axis, for each individual pulse. Using a mixed-state approach, we have reconstructed the most dominant beam components that constitute an ensemble of pulses, and from the reconstructed components determined their respective contribution in each of the individual pulses. This enabled us to obtain complete wavefront information about each individual pulse. We hope that our findings aid interpretation of data from past and future LCLS experiments and we propose this method to be used routinely for XFEL beam diagnostics. 

Ämnesord

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Fysik -- Atom- och molekylfysik och optik (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Physical Sciences -- Atom and Molecular Physics and Optics (hsv//eng)

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