Principle of Free-electron Laser and Applications in Medical Research and Lithography

Abstract

In recent years, as a breakthrough light source technology, free-electron laser (FEL) has the unique advantage of producing coherent radiation with high brightness, high energy, good directivity and excellent monochromaticity. With this in mind, this study will systematical discuss the historical development of FEL technology, from Einstein's laser theory to Dr. Maiman's first commercial laser, as well as the birth and evolution of FEL. To be specific, the basic principles and construction of FEL technology will be discussed in detail, including key components such as electron sources, electron accelerators, and oscillators. The application of free electron laser (FEL) technology in medicine and lithography will also be demonstrated in this paper. According to the analysis, the current limitations of the state-of-art facilities as well as the future development trends and improvements for FEL system will be clarified based on the evaluations. Overall, these results shed light on guiding further exploration of FEL techniques.