Author: Zummack, F.
Paper Title Page
THP090 Femtosecond Timing Distribution for the European XFEL 945
 
  • C. Sydlo, M.K. Czwalinna, M. Felber, C. Gerth, T. Lamb, H. Schlarb, S. Schulz, F. Zummack
    DESY, Hamburg, Germany
  • S. Jabłoński
    Warsaw University of Technology, Institute of Electronic Systems, Warsaw, Poland
 
  Accurate timing synchronization on the femtosecond timescale is an essential installation for time-resolved experiments at free-electron lasers (FELs) such as FLASH and the upcoming European XFEL. To date the required precision levels can only be achieved by a laser-based synchronization system. Such a system has been successfully deployed at FLASH and is based on the distribution of femtosecond laser pulses over actively stabilized optical fibers. Albeit its maturity and proven performance this system had to undergo a major redesign for the upcoming European XFEL due to the enlarged number of stabilized optical fibers and an increase by a factor of up to 10 in length. The experience and knowledge gathered from the operation of the optical synchronization system at FLASH has led to an elaborate and modular precision instrument which can stabilize polarization maintaining fibers for highest accuracy as well as economic single mode fibers for shorter lengths. This paper reports on the laser-based synchronization system focusing on the active fiber stabilization units for the European XFEL, discusses major complications, their solutions and and the most recent performance results.