Polarization Characterization of Soft X-Ray Radiation at FERMI FEL-2

The control of polarization state in soft and hard X- ray light is of crucial interest to probe structural and symmetry properties of matter. Thanks to their Apple-II type undulators, the FERMI-Free Electron Lasers are able to provide elliptical, circular or linearly polarized light within the extreme ultraviolet and soft X- ray range. In this paper, we report the characterization of the polarization state of FERMI FEL-2 down to 5 nm. The results show a high degree of polarization of the FEL pulses, typically above 95%. The campaign of measurements was performed at the Low Density Matter beamline using an electron Time-Of-Flight based polarimeter.