Researchers from The University of Texas at Austin, in collaboration with national laboratories, European universities, and TAU Systems Inc., have unveiled a compact particle accelerator measuring less than 20 meters, capable of producing an electron beam with an astonishing energy of 10 billion electron volts (10 GeV).
The conventional narrative of accelerators, sprawling across kilometers within the confines of national labs and universities, has been reshaped by this recent breakthrough.
Particle accelerators, long heralded for their transformative impact on scientific research, are now poised to revolutionize semiconductor applications.
Breakthrough on Compact Accelerator Technology
Bjorn "Manuel" Hegelich, Associate Professor of Physics at UT and CEO of TAU Systems, underscored the significance of this breakthrough, emphasizing that the team can now attain energies comparable to existing accelerators but within a mere 10 centimeters of space.
Currently, only two other accelerators operating in the US can reach such high electron energies, but both are approximately three kilometers long. Referred to as an advanced wakefield laser accelerator, this compact tech is not confined to a singular application.
The research team envisions its utilization in testing the resilience of space-bound electronics against radiation, imaging the 3D internal structures of cutting-edge semiconductor chip designs, and pioneering advancements in cancer therapies and medical imaging techniques.
Moreover, the accelerator holds promise in driving an X-ray-free electron laser capable of capturing slow-motion sequences of atomic or molecular processes.
According to the team, such groundbreaking imaging capabilities could shed light on critical phenomena, ranging from drug interactions with cells to structural changes within batteries, chemical reactions in solar panels, and the dynamic transformations of viral proteins during cell infection.
The core principle behind wakefield laser accelerators, initially proposed in 1979, involves the impact of a potent laser on helium gas. This process forms a plasma that generates waves propelling high-energy electrons.
Like A Boat Creating Waves
Hegelich's team introduced a significant innovation by incorporating nanoparticles. An auxiliary laser targets a metal plate within the gas cell, injecting metal nanoparticles that enhance the energy imparted to electrons by the waves. Illustrating the concept, Hegelich likened the accelerator to a boat creating waves on a lake.
"In our accelerator, the equivalent of Jet Skis are nanoparticles that release electrons at just the right point and just the right time, so they are all sitting there in the wave. We get a lot more electrons into the wave when and where we want them to be, rather than statistically distributed over the whole interaction, and that's our secret sauce," Hegelich said in a statement.
The experiment employed the Texas Petawatt Laser, one of the world's most potent pulsed lasers, housed at UT. Despite its intensity - equivalent to 1,000 times the installed electrical power in the US - each pulse lasts a mere 150 femtoseconds.
The researchers are now looking to further scale down the accelerator's size by developing a tabletop laser that can fire repeatedly at an impressive rate, thereby expanding its accessibility and applicability. The study's findings were published in Matter and Radiation at Extremes.
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