All-optical time-resolved measurement of laser energy modulation in a relativistic electron beam

We propose and demonstrate an all-optical method to measure laser energy modulation in a relativistic electron beam. In this scheme the time-dependent energy modulation generated from the electron-laser interaction in an undulator is converted into time-dependent density modulation with a chicane, which is measured to infer the laser energy modulation. The method, in principle, is capable of simultaneously providing information on femtosecond time scale and 10(-5) energy scale not accessible with conventional methods. We anticipate that this method may have wide applications in many laser-based advanced beam manipulation techniques.