Research at FACET

FACET

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Research Opportunities at FACET

FACET will develop more efficient and powerful accelerators through the study of plasma and dielectric wakefield acceleration. The facility will also study new methods to focus accelerator beams, while providing a unique "terahertz" lightsource for materials and biological research.

	Plasma Wakefield Acceleration Experiments indicate that plasma wakefield machines could generate as much as 1,000 times the acceleration potential of current technology—allowing smaller, less-costly accelerators of tremendous power. This approach uses speeding electrons or a laser pulse to create a charge "wake" in a sea of ionized gas. Like surfers on a good wave, particles ride this plasma wake to greater and greater speeds. > more info

	THz Radiation The study of materials using terahertz radiation—light that falls between the infrared and microwave energy ranges—has brought significant scientific advances. FACET beams will provide unique and exciting new opportunities for discovery—the facility's near-lightspeed electron bunches will be the most intense sources of terahertz radiation in the world. > more info

	Dielectric Wakefield Acceleration In a dielectric wakefield accelerator, electromagnetic power is radiated by an ultra-short, intense "driving" electron bunch propagating in a hollow dielectric fiber. This power is then used to accelerate another "witness" bunch. FACET's ability to provide the ideal electron beam required for this type of accelerator make is a one-of-a-kind facility for exploring dielectric wakefield acceleration. > more info

	Ultrafast Processes in Magnetic Solids A continuation and extension of a FFTB experimental program. The experiment consists of passing a beam through a thin sample. The sample is studied offline to understand how magnetization changes in a magnetic sample on ultrafast time scales with litttle or no energy deposition in the material. > more info

	Bunch Time Profile Measurement Using Smith-Purcell Radiation The purpose of the experiment is to determine the time profile of electron bunches which are a few femtoseconds long. This is achieved by measuring the spectral distribution of the radiation emitted when the bunch passes close to the surface of a metallic grating. The radiation is, typically, in the mid to far-infrared part of the spectrum and is measured by an array of detectors that are at ambient temperature and pressure. This experiment is a continuation and extension of an End Station A experimental program. > more info