how to power a crystal growth accelerator

'We are working on technologies that make the invisible visible and enable us to influence it,' explains physicist Müller. A KIT-developed system with an electro-optical crystal is used to detect and control extremely short electron pulses in modern particle accelerators, such as ultrashort electron packages with pulse durations in the range of femtoseconds - quadrillionths of a second - moving at the speed of light. Among them are the accelerators KARA (Karlsruhe Research Accelerator) and FLUTE (Far Infrared Linac and Test Experiment) that are used to develop, among others, measurement methods for terahertz radiation which will then be applied by materials and life scientists.

To cope with this challenge, latest infrastructures and test facilities are available at KIT. Based on the understanding of fundamental processes, we develop new operation modes and innovative combinations in accelerator technology and, thus, enable researchers of various areas to obtain new findings,' Müller says. 'We are developers of instruments for cutting-edge research. Among others, the researchers work on superconducting magnets that guide and focus the particles in the accelerator, including special magnets with alternating magnetic fields - undulators - that generate closely bundled, so-called brilliant light in accelerators. 'Development of accelerator components by so many experts from different disciplines in close cooperation makes the KIT stand out as a unique institution,' says Professor Anke-Susanne Müller, Head of the Institute for Beam Physics and Technology of KIT.

'Acquisition of funding for these activities is a great success for our researchers.' About 200 experts in physics, electrical engineering, computer science, and chemical engineering collaborate at the ATP of KIT. 'At KIT, teams of experts from various disciplines cooperate to develop innovative technologies for tomorrow's particle accelerators, from radiation diagnosis systems for highest data rates to special magnets based on high-temperature superconductors,' says KIT Vice-President for Research, Professor Oliver Kraft. The total funding volume amounts to about EUR 3 million. In a competition of all German universities, seven of their projects have now been selected for funding under the framework program 'Erforschung von Universum und Materie - ErUM' (research into universe and matter) of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). At the Accelerator Technology Platform (ATP) of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), scientists from various disciplines work on the further development of accelerator technology. They enable deep insight into the structure of matter. Particle accelerators are key instruments for cutting-edge research in biology, medicine, materials science, and chemistry. Image: Electro-optical crystal for capturing the extremely short electron pulses in modern particle accelerators.

How to power a crystal growth accelerator