The leading hypotheses for the mechanism of production of these highest-known intensity beams of radiation, are inverse Compton scattering and synchrotron radiation production of gamma rays from high-energy charged particles.
Smaller, X-ray generators are often used in laboratories to check the quality of crystals before bringing them to a synchrotron and sometimes to solve a crystal structure.
The electrons emit synchrotron radiation that coherently interacts with the same electrons to strongly amplify the radiation field at the resonance frequency.
