Foto: Program "Matter and Technologies" ©Copyright: BengsAccelerator Research and Development

Matter > Matter and Technologies - All Topics

Foto: ELBE-Zentrum für Hochleistungs-Strahlenquellen ©Copyright: HZDR/Frank BierstedtModern accelerator facilities and systems represent a decisive technology of the future. They are indispensable when it comes to answering the major questions of our time. Today, accelerator systems are not only used in fundamental research, but also for innovations in materials research, bio and nano sciences, active ingredients research, and medical applications such as cancer therapy. The development of innovative accelerators is already today and also continues to be in the future a driving force for the exploration of new high tech fields. The Helmholtz Association's research centers in Hamburg, Darmstadt, Berlin, Jülich, Karlsruhe and Dresden have now joined forces to optimally use their synergies in this sector. In addition, an important task of the cooperation partners revolves around the education and training of young scientists.

Already today, the research facility ELBE – which is based on a superconducting electron linear accelerator operated by the HZDR – permits the acceleration of ultrashort electron bunches in a quality which allows scientists to conduct significantly more and better experiments within a shorter period of time than with comparable, normal conducting accelerators. Within the scope of the research topic “Accelerator Research and Development,” which is also a Helmholtz portfolio topic, methods for electron beam diagnostics on superconducting accelerators are to be optimized further so that it will be possible to operate light sources with improved properties. Other research topics include, for example, innovative particle sources, electron-photon interactions, and ultrashort particle bunches as well as innovative concepts for circular accelerators and accelerators with ultrahigh gradients.


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Publications

  • Galletti, M.; Assmann, R.; Couprie, M.-E. et al.
    Prospects for free-electron lasers powered by plasma-wakefield-accelerated beams
    Nature Photonics 18(2024), 780-791 (10.1038/s41566-024-01474-3)
  • Huault, M.; Ehret, M.; de Luis, D. et al.
    A Scintillator Detector for Spatiospectral Characterization of Proton Beams at High Repetition Rate
    IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement 73(2024), 10607997 (10.1109/TIM.2024.3398120)
  • Assenbaum, S.; Bock, S.; Cowan, T. et al.
    Prediction of laser-induced breakdown in sub-micron-thick dielectric targets for laser-ion acceleration
    Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion 67(2025)1, 015032 (10.1088/1361-6587/ad994e)
  • Ordyna, P.; Bähtz, C.; Brambrink, E. et al.
    Visualizing plasmons and ultrafast kinetic instabilities in laser-driven solids using X-ray scattering
    Communications Physics 7(2024), 296 (10.1038/s42005-024-01776-6)
  • Ziegler, T.; Göthel, I.; Assenbaum, S. et al.
    Laser-driven high-energy proton beams from cascaded acceleration regimes
    Nature Physics 20(2024)7, 1211-1216 (10.1038/s41567-024-02505-0)
  • Schilz, J. D.; Bodenstein, E.; Brack, F.-E. et al.
    Absolute energy-dependent scintillating screen calibration for real-time detection of laser-accelerated proton bunches
    Review of Scientific Instruments 95(2024)7, 073303 (10.1063/5.0206931)
  • Lu, P.; Arnold, A.; Teichert, J. et al.
    Simulation of ELBE SRF gun II for high-bunch-charge applications
    Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A 830(2016), 536-544 (10.1016/j.nima.2016.05.087)
  • Xiang, R.; Arnold, A.; Kamps, T. et al.
    Experimental studies of dark current in a superconducting RF photo-injector
    Physical Review Accelerators and Beams 17(2014)4, 043401 (10.1103/PhysRevSTAB.17.043401)
  • Teichert, J.; Arnold, A.; Büttig, H. et al.
    Free-Electron Laser Operation with a Superconducting Radio-Frequency Photoinjector at ELBE
    Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A 743(2014), 114-120 (10.1016/j.nima.2014.01.006)