Observation of SASE in LEBRA FEL system

A large enhancement of spontaneous undulator radiation has been observed during FEL lasing experiments at LEBRA. The enhancement has been observed only with the detector for the infrared fundamental radiation. The detector output signal showed spikes during the electron beam pulse, yet no apparent enhancement was observed with a CCD camera monitoring the visible harmonic radiations. An enhancement factor greater than 10 has been obtained with a 2.4 m long undulator with a completely detuned FEL optical cavity length and depends strongly on the parameters of the linac RF system. This implies that the SASE operation is possible even with a conventional electron beam by achieving suitable bunch compression.