Sideband control in a millimeter-wave free-electron laser

The frequency offset of the sideband instability in a free-electron laser (FEL) should depend on (1-v/sub X//v/sub g/)/sup -1/, where v/sub X/ is the average longitudinal velocity of the electrons and v/sub g/ is the group velocity of the electromagnetic waves. We have tested the v/sub X//v/sub g/ dependence of the sideband shift in a 2-mm, Raman-regime FEL oscillator. A change of v/sub X//v/sub g/ from 0.93 to 0.98, accomplished by an increase in the undulator period, resulted in the measured sideband shift increasing from 6% to 40%, in approximate agreement with theory.