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Laser-based diagnostic systems play an increasingly important role in accelerator diagnostics in, for instance, measurements of the electron bunch length. To date, the laser system of choice for electro-optic experiments has been the Ti:Sa laser. These offer nJ pulse energies at fixed repetition rate between 50-100 MHz, which is not well suited to the bunch structure of facilities such as FLASH (several hundred pulses with 1 MHz spacing at 1-5 Hz repetition rate).The limited robustness, stability and operability of Ti:Sa systems make them less than an ideal candidate for a continuously running measurement system requiring minimal maintenance. Fiber lasers represent a promising alternative, since gating and subsequent amplification is simple and of low cost, hence a pulse pattern corresponding exactly to the linac bunch pattern can be generated. Furthermore, these lasers offer superior robustness at a fraction of the cost of a Ti:Sa laser and have been shown to work without maintenance for several months and longer. Here, we present an ytterbium-doped fiber laser system with 80 nm bandwidth and multi-nJ pulse energy with adjustable bunch pattern for use in electro-optic experiments.
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