Acceleration of charged particles using spatially and temporally shaped electromagnetic radiation
A method and apparatus for accelerating charged particles are disclosed, wherein the method comprises using at least a transverse component of a temporally and spatially shaped electromagnetic field to accelerate one or more charged particles.
1. A method comprising:
using a two-dimensional spatiotemporal pulse shaper to produce a spatially and temporally shaped electromagnetic field from an output of a laser system; and
accelerating a charged particle using at least a transverse electric field component of the spatially and temporally shaped electromagnetic field.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the transverse electric field component of the shaped electromagnetic field accelerates the charged particle for a period greater than an inverse of an electromagnetic frequency for the shaped electromagnetic field.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the pulse shaper comprises at least one dispersive element and a two-dimensional modulator.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the shaped electromagnetic field comprises a series of pulses that follow a trajectory of the accelerated charged particle.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the charged particle is an electron.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the accelerated charged particle is directed towards a target to produce a radionuclide.
7. The method of claim 5 , further comprising using the accelerated electron as a seed electron in a free electron laser.
8. The method of claim 5 , further comprising using the accelerated electron for electron microscopy.
9. The method of claim 5 , further comprising using the accelerated electron for electron lithography.
10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising inducing electromagnetic emission from the accelerated charged particle.
11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the charged particle is a proton.
12. The method of claim 5 , wherein the total energy of the accelerated electron is up to 200 MeV.
13. The method of claim 5 , wherein the total energy of the accelerated electron is up to 600 MeV.
14. The method of claim 5 , wherein the total energy of the accelerated electron is up to 1000 MeV.
15. The method of claim 6 , wherein the target comprises a substrate with at least one layer of a proton producing material.
16. The method of claim 1 , further comprising using the accelerated charged particle to induce at least one nuclear reaction in a target.
17. The method of claim 1 , further comprising using the accelerated charged particle to generate bremsstrahlung radiation in a target.
18. The method of claim 5 , further comprising using the accelerated electron for electron diffraction.
19. An apparatus comprising:
a source of charged particles; and
a source comprising a laser and a two-dimensional pulse shaper for providing a temporally and spatially shaped electromagnetic field configured to accelerate at least one of the charged particles using at least a transverse electric field component of the spatially and temporally shaped electromagnetic field.
20. The apparatus of claim 19 , wherein the transverse electric field component of the shaped electromagnetic field accelerates the charged particle for a period greater than an inverse of an electromagnetic frequency for the shaped electromagnetic field.
21. The apparatus of claim 19 , wherein the two-dimensional pulse shaper comprises at least one dispersive element and a two-dimensional modulator.
22. The apparatus of claim 19 , wherein the shaped electromagnetic field comprises a series of pulses that follow a trajectory of the accelerated charged particle.
23. The apparatus of claim 19 , further comprising a chamber comprising a target to which the accelerated charged particles are directed.
24. The apparatus of claim 23 , wherein the target produces radionuclides in response to the accelerated charged particles.
25. The apparatus of claim 23 , wherein the target undergoes a nuclear reaction in response to the accelerated charged particles.
26. The apparatus of claim 23 , wherein the target generates bremsstrahlung radiation in response to the accelerated charged particles.
27. An apparatus comprising:
a source of charged particles;
a means for accelerating at least one of the charged particles using at least a transverse electric field component of a spatially and temporally shaped electromagnetic field; and
a target for the accelerated charged particle,
wherein the means for accelerating at least one of the charged particles comprises a two-dimensional spatiotemporal pulse shaping means configured to produce the spatially and temporally shaped electromagnetic field from an output of a laser system.
28. The method of claim 1 , wherein the shaped electromagnetic field comprises a plurality of components that follow a trajectory of the accelerated charged particle.
29. The apparatus of claim 19 , wherein the shaped electromagnetic field comprises a plurality of components that follow a trajectory of the accelerated charged particle.