High gain oscillators: Pulse propagation and saturation

Semianalytical formulas have been used to model the pulse propagation dynamics of low gain free electron laser oscillators. Most of the scaling relations, including pulse propagation effects, are limited to the low gain regime. We discuss the problem of oscillator devices operating with small signal gain coefficients larger than 1. We comment on the relevant physical aspects and show that gain and saturated power can be reproduced by a set of simple formulas, analogous to those employed for the low gain case.