Relativistic electron acceleration by focused THz pulses

Abstract

The acceleration of single electrons and electron bunches by focused THz pulse pairs has been investigated by numerical simulations. The effect of the choice of the beam waist radius, the carrier-envelope phase, and the propagation direction of the THz pulses on the energy of the accelerated electrons was investigated. The acceleration of electron bunches from rest up to 150 keV was predicted using single-cycle THz pulses with 1 mJ energy and a central frequency in the 0.1 THz to 3.0 THz range. The post-acceleration of electrons by pairs of focused THz pulses has also been proposed.