Transverse mode coupling and supermode establishment in a free-electron laser oscillator

A three-dimensional study of transverse mode evolution in a free-electron laser (FEL) oscillator is presented. The total electromagnetic field circulating in the resonator is represented as a superposition of transverse modes of the cavity. Coupled-mode theory is employed to derive a generalized 3-D steady-state oscillation criterion, from which the oscillator supermode is found analytically. The oscillator supermode keeps its transverse features after each round-trip, and it is the eigenmode solution of the oscillator at steady-state. Relations between the oscillator supermode and the amplifier supermode are discussed. It is shown that they are identical only when the feedback process is entirely non-disperssive and non-discriminating. We employ a 3-D, non-linear simulation code to demonstrate the evolvement of transverse modes in the oscillator towards formation of a supermode. The simulation shows that the resulted supermode is identical to that predicted by the analytical approach