In order to produce the shortest possible radiation pulses using free-electron lasers like FLASH, various possibilities have been proposed during the last decade. Probably the most robust method is the generation of electron bunches that in the most extreme case are as short as a single longitudinal optical mode of the SASE (Self-Amplified Spontaneous Emission) radiation. For FLASH this means that the bunch length has to be a few fs only. As a consequence, very low bunch charges (in the order of 20 pC) have to be used. To achieve these extremely short bunch lengths, a new photo-injector laser has been installed, which allows for the generation of shorter electron bunches right at the cathode. Simulations of the electron bunches and their sixdimensional phase-space distribution have been performed to investigate the optimum accelerator parameters during injection and to determine how to realize them. First results are discussed in this contribution.
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