Observation of SASE at 47 μm

Coherent, far-infrared undulator radiation from sub-picosecond electron pulses has been observed at the Stanford SUNSHINE facility. Measured intensities exceed theoretical prediction for spontaneous radiation by more than an order of magnitude. The forward-radiated energy from a 16 MeV electron beam travelling in a single pass through an undulator with a strength parameter K = 0.6 grows exponentially and is consistent with predictions of Self-Amplified Spontaneous Emission (SASE) with a gain length of 45.4 cm or 5.9 undulator periods.