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.
A THz-pulse-driven compact, < 150 mm in total length, two-stage electron accelerator setup was designed. It uses 2 × 2 pairs of nearly counter-propagating focused THz pulses. The effects of the initial bunch charge and the propagation direction of the THz pulses on the energy of the accelerated electrons were investigated by numerical simulations. Generation of 8 fC electron bunches with up to 340 keV energy; only 2.0% energy spread and compressed on-target duration of 200 fs is predicted using single-cycle low-frequency THz pulses with less than 4.5 mJ total energy.
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