Photon yield of superradiant inverse Compton scattering from microbunched electrons

Compact x-ray sources offering high-brightness radiation for advanced imaging applications are highly desired. We investigate, analytically and numerically, the photon yield of superradiant inverse Compton scattering from microbunched electrons in the linear Thomson regime, using a classical electrodynamics approach. We show that for low electron beam energy, which is generic to inverse Compton sources, the single electron radiation distribution does not match well to collective amplification pattern induced by a density modulated electron beam. Consequently, for head-on scattering from a visible laser, the superradiant yield is limited by the transverse size of typical electron bunches driving Compton sources. However, by simultaneously increasing the electron beam energy and introducing an oblique scattering geometry, the superradiant yield can be increased by orders of magnitude.