X-ray free electron lasers (FELs), which amplify light emitted by a relativistic electron beam, are extending nonlinear optical techniques to shorter wavelengths, adding element specificity by exciting and probing electronic transitions from core levels. These techniques would benefit tremendously from having a stable FEL source, generating spectrally pure and wavelength-tunable pulses. We show that such requirements can be met by operating the FEL in the so-called echo-enabled harmonic generation (EEHG) configuration. Here, two external conventional lasers are used to precisely tailor the longitudinal phase space of the electron beam before emission of X-rays. We demonstrate high-gain EEHG lasing producing stable, intense, nearly fully coherent pulses at wavelengths as short as 5.9 nm (~211 eV) at the FERMI FEL user facility. Low sensitivity to electron-beam imperfections and observation of stable, narrow-band, coherent emission down to 2.6 nm (~474 eV) make the technique a prime candidate for generating laser-like pulses in the X-ray spectral region, opening the door to multidimensional coherent spectroscopies at short wavelengths.

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We propose to develop, characterize and operate a superconducting undulator (SCU) afterburner consisting of 5 undulator modules (1 module = 2 SCU coils of 2 m length and 1 phase shifter) plus a pre-series prototype at the SASE2 hard X-ray beamline of European XFEL. This afterburner will produce an output in the order of 1010 ph/pulse at photon energies above 30 keV. The project is divided into the production of a pre-series prototype module and a small-series production of 5 modules. Central goals of this R&D activity are: the demonstration of the functionality of SCUs at an X-ray FEL, the set up of the needed infrastructure to characterize and operate SCUs, the industrialization of such undulators, and the reduction of the price per module. In this contribution, the main parameters and specifications of the pre-series prototype module are described.

European XFEL is investing in the development of superconducting undulators (SCUs) for future upgrade of its beamlines. SCUs made of NbTi, working at 2 K, with a period length of 15 mm and a vacuum gap of 5 mm allow covering a range between 54 keV and 100 keV. The effect of mechanical errors in the distribution of the undulator parameter K along the undulators is more relevant for working points at lower photon energy, which are obtained using a higher magnetic field in the undulator. In this article we investigate the effect of error distribution in the K-parameter for a working point at 50 keV photon energy obtained injecting an electron beam with 16.5 GeV energy from the XFEL linear accelerator in a undulator line composed by SCUs with 1.6 T peak magnetic field.