Accelerator on a Chip
In 2013 scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University reported on research that could dramatically shrink particle accelerators for science and medicine, researchers used a laser to accelerate electrons at a rate 10 times higher than conventional technology in a nanostructured glass chip smaller than a grain of rice.
In 2016 SLAC reported that it had received a $13.5m Moore Grant to develop a working prototype of an “Accelerator on a Chip”.
In April 2017 research progress was referenced in an article in IEE Spectrum which reported that nanostructures were enabling progress to be made. The research project aims to achieve 1 MeV of acceleration in order to demonstrate the viability of the concept.
First published by iia Nov 2017