Ginzburg's invention of undulators and their role in modern synchrotron radiation sources and free electron lasers

Abstract

Undulators — periodic magnetic structures that were originally introduced by Vitalii Ginzburg in 1947 for electromagnetic radiation generation using relativistic electrons — are among the key elements of modern synchrotron radiation sources and free electron lasers (FELs). In this talk, the history of three generations of storage ring-based synchrotron X-ray sources using wigglers and undulators is briefly traced. Prospects for two types of next-generation space-coherent X-ray sources are discussed, which use long undulators and energy recovery accelerators or, alternatively, employ linear accelerator-based FELs. The recently developed Novosibirsk terahertz FEL facility, currently the world' s most powerful terahertz source, is described. It was the generation of electromagnetic radiation in this range that Ginzburg discussed in his 1947 work.