Our Technology for Science & Society
Plasma Accelerator - The 100 billion Volt Machine
Conventional accelerators employ oscillating radio radiofrequency (RF) fields to accelerate charged particles. The accelerating rate in these devices is restricted by electrical breakdown in the accelerating tube. This limits the amount of acceleration over any given space, requiring very long accelerators to reach high energies...read more
Towards Revolutionary Applications and Benefits for Society
There are currently more than 30,000 accelerators in operation around the world. Large accelerators are used in particle physics as colliders, or as synchrotron light sources for the study of condensed matter physics and structural biology, among other applications. Smaller particle accelerators are used in a wide variety of applications, including cancer therapy, production of radioisotopes for medical diagnostics, ion implanters for the electronics industry, cargo inspection, food sterilization, etc.
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The European and International Perspective
The EuPRAXIA study involves scientists working on accelerators, high-power lasers, free-electron lasers and high-energy physics. Moreover, research and development on electron plasma acceleration is carried out in multiple institutions scattered around Europe, Asia and the United States...read more
ACCELERATOR INNOVATION FOR NEW HORIZONS IN SCIENCE
SMALLER SIZE AND IMPROVED COST-EFFICIENCY
The EuPRAXIA Facility
In principle, there are several methods to create the high-quality multi-GeV electron beams by plasma acceleration proposed for EuPRAXIA. In the first place, the plasma wakefield can be driven by a high-power laser pulse (Laser Wakefield Acceleration – LWFA) or by a moderate energy electron beam (Plasma Wakefield Acceleration – PWFA)...read more
The Role of Industry
The EuPRAXIA technology is closely linked to EU industry, and in particular to the high-power laser industry, where two European companies currently set the standards for petawatt-class lasers. The high demands of the EuPRAXIA project inspire and foster technological progress in this field, keeping the European laser industry at the leading edge of the sector...read more