Researchers find way to reduce cost and size of particle accelerators

Researchers have found a way to reduce the cost and size of particle accelerators, that could widen its use in science and medicine, according to a report in the journal Nature. 

Researchers at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, accelerated electrons to a rate ten times higher than what could be achieved normally. According to the experts, their study could pave the way for low-cost, "tabletop" accelerators.

In conventional particle accelerators, microwaves are used to increase the energy of electrons. The latest study showed lasers could be used to boost the electrons.

According to Joel England, who led the experiment, there were still a number of challenges before the technology became practical for real-world use, but eventually it would substantially reduce the size and cost of future high-energy particle colliders for exploring the world of fundamental particles and forces.

Further, it could also help enable compact accelerators and X-ray devices for security scanning, medical therapy and imaging, as also research in biology and materials science, he added.

The acceleration of particles is usually a two-stage process, wherein, in the first stage, electrons are boosted to reach the speed of light and any subsequent speed-enhancing only building the energy within the electrons, according to a press release.        

In the current experiment, researchers first used a standard accelerator accelerate electrons to near-light speeds, in the current experiment. The electrons were focused into a tiny channel within a fused silica glass chip and the infrared laser then interacted with the ridges on the channel.

Researchers are hopeful of the "accelerator on a chip" matching the SLAC's 2-mile-long linear accelerator in terms of boosting power and delivering at least a million more electron pulses per second.

The device which has a low fiscal cost, uses commercial lasers to make it fairly accessible in the near future.

According to Robert Byer, the principal investigator, the ultimate goal for the structure was 1 billion electronvolts per metre, and the researchers were already one-third of the way in their first experiment.

The technology holds potential for use in X-ray free-electron lasers and could contribute to the creation of a miniature portable X-ray source, that could be brought to injured soldiers at the scene of action.