Accelerator apparatus (100) for accelerating charged particles (2) with pulsed radiation includes horn-shaped coupling device (10) with at least one horn coupler (11, 15) having input aperture (12), electrically conductive walls (13) and output aperture (14), wherein pulsed radiation is received at input aperture and focused towards output aperture, and waveguide device (20) coupled with the output aperture and configured for receiving focused pulsed radiation. Waveguide device includes injection section (21) for providing charged particles and subjecting them to acceleration by pulsed radiation in injection section, and lateral output port (23) for releasing accelerated charged particles along particle acceleration direction. The at least one horn coupler receives linearly polarized single cycle pulses (1) including broadband frequency spectrum shaped as a linearly polarized plane wave and focuses linearly polarized single cycle pulses. Waveguide device has non-resonant broadband transmission characteristic. Furthermore, charged particle gun and method of accelerating charged particles are described.

When controlling the ejection of a charged particle beam from a synchrotron, a radiofrequency voltage is applied, which serves as the radio-frequency voltage to be applied to an ejection radio-frequency electrode equipping the synchrotron, and which is constituted by a first radio-frequency voltage for increasing an oscillation amplitude in such a way as to exceed a stable limit in order to eject to the exterior of the synchrotron a beam that circles inside the synchrotron, and a second radio-frequency voltage for preferentially ejecting a charged particle beam that circles in the vicinity of the stable limit, with the amplitude value of the second radiofrequency voltage being controlled in such a way that the amplitude value is 0 prior to the beam ejection start, the amplitude value increases gradually from the beam ejection start, and, once a predetermined amplitude value has been reached, this value is maintained.

The present specification relates to accelerating electrically charged particles. Gas is introduced into a vacuum chamber through at least one nozzle which opens into said vacuum chamber. Focusing an ionizing beam into the gas generates a plasma having a spatial distribution determined by the duration and manner of focusing the ionizing beam's laser pulses. Linearly polarized electromagnetic pulses of a wavelength at least ten times the wavelength of the ionizing beam's laser pulses tear electrons off the plasma, wherein said electromagnetic pulses include at most five optical cycles. The tearing-off of electrons is performed along a straight line defined by the resulting electric field strength of the electromagnetic pulses and simultaneously with the tearing-off of electrons, the positively charged particles of the remaining plasma with a net positive total charge are accelerated through exposure to Coulomb electrostatic forces.

The present specification relates to accelerating electrically charged particles. Gas is introduced into a vacuum chamber through at least one nozzle which opens into said vacuum chamber. Focusing an ionizing beam into the gas generates a plasma having a spatial distribution determined by the duration and manner of focusing the ionizing beam's laser pulses. Linearly polarized electromagnetic pulses of a wavelength at least ten times the wavelength of the ionizing beam's laser pulses tear electrons off the plasma, wherein said electromagnetic pulses include at most five optical cycles. The tearing-off of electrons is performed along a straight line defined by the resulting electric field strength of the electromagnetic pulses and simultaneously with the tearing-off of electrons, the positively charged particles of the remaining plasma with a net positive total charge are accelerated through exposure to Coulomb electrostatic forces.

An electromagnetic accelerator system may include a barrel defining a bore through which an acceleration path extends. An electromagnetic coil may be positioned around the barrel such that the acceleration path extends through a core of the electromagnetic coil. A first electrical contact may be positioned along the acceleration path approximately within the core of the electromagnetic coil and electrically coupled to the electromagnetic coil. A second electrical contact may position along the acceleration path approximately within the core of the electromagnetic coil and spaced apart from the first electrical contact. The second electrical contact may be electrically coupleable to the first electrical contact to complete a circuit when a projectile to be accelerated is positioned therebetween.

A method and apparatus for processing a particle shower using a laser-driven plasma is provided. The method comprises interacting a particle shower with a processing laser-driven plasma stage, the particle shower comprising at least one particle species, wherein the laser is a high-energy, ultra-short pulse laser. In some embodiments, the method comprises accelerating, decelerating, trapping, or collimating the at least one particle species in the processing laser-drive plasma stage. Particularly, the embodiments enable generating high energy particle beams that were only possible using accelerators spanning several hundred meters, in a space of a few meters.

A method and apparatus for processing a particle shower using a laser-driven plasma is provided. The method comprises interacting a particle shower with a processing laser-driven plasma stage, the particle shower comprising at least one particle species, wherein the laser is a high-energy, ultra-short pulse laser. In some embodiments, the method comprises accelerating, decelerating, trapping, or collimating the at least one particle species in the processing laser-drive plasma stage. Particularly, the embodiments enable generating high energy particle beams that were only possible using accelerators spanning several hundred meters, in a space of a few meters.

Apparatuses and methods for accelerating electrons including an electron source configured to provide a beam of electrons and an accelerator utilize electron cyclotron resonance acceleration (eCRA). The accelerator includes a radio frequency (RF) cavity having a longitudinal axis, one or more inlets, and one or more outlets and an electromagnet substantially surrounding at least a portion of the cavity and configured to produce an axial magnetic field. At least one pair of waveguides couple the cavity to an RF source configured to generate an RF wave. The RF wave is a superposition of two orthogonal TE.sub.111 transverse electric modes excited in quadrature to produce an azimuthally rotating standing-wave mode configured to accelerate the beam of electrons axially entering the cavity with non-linear cyclotron resonance acceleration.

A method for increasing the MeV hot electron yield and secondary radiation produced by short-pulse laser-target interactions with an appropriately high or low atomic number (Z) target. Secondary radiation, such as MeV x-rays, gamma-rays, protons, ions, neutrons, positrons and electromagnetic radiation in the microwave to sub-mm region, can be used, e.g., for the flash radiography of dense objects.

A semiconductor laser accelerator includes several laser acceleration units linked in a cascade manner, and a controller configured to control excitation current supplied to the laser acceleration units. Each laser acceleration unit includes electrodes, an active layer, a first waveguide layer defining one acceleration channel, a second waveguide layer, and a reflecting layer. One or two optical gratings are formed on one or two sides of the acceleration channel to serve as an accelerating area. The semiconductor laser accelerator exhibits a higher acceleration gradient and a smaller structure while not requiring a complex external optical system. In addition, an optical field is controlled by external excitation current, the matching control of an electron beam and an optical field phase can be realized, and the problem of a phase slip can be solved by means of cascade expansion.