Initial Gain Measurements of a 800nm SASE FEL, VISA

The VISA (Visible to Infrared SASE Amplifier) FEL is designed to obtain high gain at a radiation wavelength of 800nm. The FEL uses the high brightness electron beam of the Accelerator Test Facility (ATF), with energy of 72MeV. VISA uses a novel, 4 m long, strong focussing undulator with a gap of 6mm and a period of 1.8cm. To obtain large gain the beam and undulator axis have to be aligned to better than 50μm. Results from initial measurements on the alignment, gain, and spectrum will be presented and compared to theoretical calculations and simulations.