Switching of the harmonic order in free-electron lasers by controlling the density modulation of an electron bunch

It was demonstrated that harmonic order in free-electron laser (FEL) oscillations could be switched by adjusting the dispersive gap of the optical klystron ETLOK-III in the storage ring NIJI-IV. The effective gains for the fundamental and third-harmonic FEL oscillations were evaluated and it was confirmed that the FEL oscillated at the order of the harmonic with the higher effective gain. The ratio between the effective gain for the fundamental and that for the third harmonic was controlled by the dispersive gap. It was also demonstrated that a spectral measurement of the FEL-based Compton scattering X-ray beam was effective for directly observing the switching of the harmonic order. These results contribute to the development of higher-harmonic FEL oscillations suppressing the fundamental FEL oscillation in the extreme ultraviolet and X-ray regions.