Accelerator-based light sources such as storage rings and free-electron lasers use relativistic electron beams to produce intense radiation over a wide spectral range for fundamental research in physics, chemistry, materials science, biology and medicine. More than a dozen such sources operate worldwide, and new sources are being built to deliver radiation that meets with the ever increasing sophistication and depth of new research. Even so, conventional accelerator techniques often cannot keep pace with new demands and, thus, new approaches continue to emerge. In this article, we review a variety of recently developed and promising techniques that rely on lasers to manipulate and rearrange the electron distribution in order to tailor the properties of the radiation. Basic theories of electron-laser interactions, techniques to create micro-and nano-structures in electron beams, and techniques to produce radiation with customizable waveforms are reviewed. We overview laser-based techniques for the generation of fully coherent x-rays, mode-locked x-ray pulse trains, light with orbital angular momentum, and attosecond or even zeptosecond long coherent pulses in free-electron lasers. Several methods to generate femtosecond pulses in storage rings are also discussed. Additionally, we describe various schemes designed to enhance the performance of light sources through precision beam preparation including beam conditioning, laser heating, emittance exchange, and various laser-based diagnostics. Together these techniques represent a new emerging concept of "beam by design" in modern accelerators, which is the primary focus of this article CONTENTS

Recent advances in the production and control of high-brightness electron beams (e-beams) have enabled a new class of intense light sources based on the free electron laser (FEL) that can examine matter atÅngstrom length and femtosecond time scales. The free, or unbound, electrons act as the lasing medium, which provides unique opportunities to exquisitely control the spatial and temporal structure of the emitted light through precision manipulation of the electron distribution. We present an experimental demonstration of light with orbital angular momentum (OAM) generated from a relativistic e-beam rearranged into an optical scale helix by a laser. With this technique, we show that a Gaussian laser mode can be effectively up-converted to an OAM mode in an FEL using only the e-beam as a mode-convertor. Results confirm theoretical predictions, and pave the way for the production of coherent OAM light with unprecedented brightness down to hard x-ray wavelengths for wide ranging applications in modern light sources.

A simple method for generating single-spike hard x-ray pulses in free-electron lasers (FELs) has been developed at the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS). This is realized by nonlinear bunch compression using 20-pC bunch charge, demonstrated in the hard x-ray regime at 5.6 and 9 keV, respectively. Measurements show about half of the FEL shots containing a single-spike spectrum. At 5.6-keV photon energy, the single-spike shots have a mean pulse energy of about 10  μJ with 70% intensity fluctuation and the pulse full width at half maximum is evaluated to be at 200-as level.

A scheme to generate intense coherent light that carries orbital angular momentum (OAM) at the fundamental wavelength of an x-ray free-electron laser (FEL) is described. The OAM light is emitted as the dominant mode of the system until saturation provided that the helical microbunching imposed on the electron beam is larger than the shot-noise bunching that leads to self-amplified emission. Operating at the fundamental, this scheme is more efficient than alternate schemes that rely on harmonic emission, and can be applied to x-ray FELs without using external optical mode conversion elements.

We report the observation of coherent Cerenkov radiation in the terahertz regime emitted by a relativistic electron pulse train passing through a dielectric lined cylindrical waveguide. We describe the beam manipulations and measurements involved in repetitive pulse train creation including comb collimation and nonlinear optics corrections. With this technique, modes beyond the fundamental are selectively excited by use of the appropriate frequency train. The spectral characterization of the structure shows preferential excitation of the fundamental and of a higher longitudinal mode.