We present a conceptual design for a compact X-ray Source BriXS (Bright and compact X-ray Source). BriXS, the first stage of the Marix project, is an Inverse Compton Source (ICS) of X-ray based on superconducting cavities technology for the electron beam with energy recirculation and on a laser system in Fabry-Pérot cavity at a repetition rate of 100 MHz, producing 20–180 keV monochromatic X-Rays devoted mainly to medical applications. An energy recovery scheme based on a modified folded push-pull CW-SC twin Energy Recovery Linac (ERL) ensemble allows us to sustain an MW-class beam power with almost one hundred kW active power dissipation/consumption.

Fine time-resolved analysis of matter—i.e., spectroscopy and photon scattering—in the linear response regime requires fs-scale pulsed, high repetition rate, fully coherent X-ray sources. A seeded Free Electron Laser (FEL) driven by a Linac based on Super Conducting cavities, generating ${10}^8$ – ${10}^{10}$ coherent photons at 2–5 keV with 0.2–1 MHz of repetition rate, can address this need. Three different seeding schemes, reaching the X-ray range, are described hereafter. The first two are multi-stage cascades upshifting the radiation frequency by a factor of 10–30 starting from a seed represented by a coherent flash of extreme ultraviolet light. This radiation can be provided either by the High Harmonic Generation of an optical laser or by an FEL Oscillator operating at 12–14 nm. The third scheme is a regenerative amplifier working with X-ray mirrors. The whole chain of the X-ray generation is here described by means of start-to-end simulations.

X-ray production through betatron radiation emission from electron bunches is a valuable resource for several research fields. The EuAPS (EuPRAXIA Advanced Photon Sources) project, within the framework of EuPRAXIA, aims to provide 1–10 keV photons (X-rays), developing a compact plasma-based system designed to exploit self-injection processes that occur in the highly nonlinear laser-plasma interaction (LWFA) to drive electron betatron oscillations. Since the emitted radiation spectrum, intensity, angular divergence, and possible coherence strongly depend on the properties of the self-injected beam, accurate preliminary simulations of the process are necessary to evaluate the optimal diagnostic device specifications and to provide an initial estimate of the source’s performance. A dedicated tool for these tasks has been developed; electron trajectories from particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations are currently undergoing numerical analysis through the calculation of retarded fields and spectra for various plasma and laser parameter combinations. The implemented forward approach evaluation of the fields could allow for the integration of the presented scheme into already existing PIC codes. The spectrum calculation is thus performed in detector time, giving a linear complex exponential phase; this feature allows for a semi-analitical Fourier transform evaluation. The code structure and some trajectories analysis results are presented.

In this manuscript we review the challenges of Compton backscattering sources in advancing photon beam performances in the 1 – 20 MeV energy range, underlining the design criteria bringing to maximum spectral luminosity and briefly describing the main achievements in conceiving and developing new devices (multi-bunch RF cavities and Laser recirculators) for the case of ELI-NP Gamma Beam System (ELI-NP-GBS).

We present a scheme to generate synchronised THz and soft X-ray radiation pulses by using a free-electron laser oscillator driven by a high repetition rate (of order 10–100 MHz) energy recovery linac. The backward THz radiation in the oscillator cavity interacts with a successive electron bunch, thus producing few ${10}^5$ soft/hard X-ray photons per shot (namely ${10}^{12}$–${10}^{13}$ photons/s) via Thomson/Compton back-scattering, synchronised with the mJ-class THz pulse within the temporal jitter of electron beams accelerated in the superconducting cavities of the linac (less than 100 fs). Detailed simulations have been performed in order to assess the capability of the scheme for typical wavelengths of interest, between 10 and 50 $\mathsf{\mu }$m for the TeraHertz radiation and 0.5–3 nm for the X-rays.

We present a study of an innovative scheme to generate high repetition rate (MHz-class) GeV electron beams by adopting a two-pass two-way acceleration in a super-conducting Linac operated in Continuous Wave (CW) mode. The beam is accelerated twice in the Linac by being re-injected, after the first pass, in opposite direction of propagation. The task of recirculating the electron beam is performed by an arc compressor composed by 14 Double Bend Achromat (DBA). In this paper, we study the main issues of the two-fold acceleration scheme, the electron beam quality parameters preservation (emittance, energy spread), together with the bunch compression performance of the arc compressor, aiming to operate an X-ray Free Electron Laser. The requested power to supply the cryogenic plant and the RF sources is also significantly reduced w.r.t a conventional one-pass SC Linac for the same final energy.