Scientists are examining the possibility of creating particles the size of a chip, which could potentially revolutionize technology. These miniature devices could be used in radiation therapy for skin cancer treatment and could also pave the way for the development of new lasers and light sources.
Traditional particle accelerators used in medical applications can span from several meters to several kilometers for fundamental studies. However, recent advancements in dielectric materials have shown the ability to withstand light fields thousands of times stronger. This has prompted scientists to explore the creation of dielectric accelerators using lasers. These miniature “accelerators on a chip” would be much smaller and more affordable than their traditional counterparts.
“The idea of creating such a device is almost as old as the laser,” says Peter Hommelhoff, a physicist from the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany and the senior author of the study. As part of their research, physicists created a channel measuring 225 nanometers in width and up to 0.5 millimeters in length. Within this channel, two rows of 733 silicon columns, each with a height of 2 micrometers, interacted with laser pulses to generate accelerating forces.
Hommelhoff emphasizes that their success is attributed to the high quality of their manufacturing process, which allowed them to overcome potential obstacles that could damage the electronic beam. The scientists believe that their results represent a significant step forward in this field of research.
The energy characteristics of nanophotonic electronic accelerators make them suitable for specific applications, such as skin cancer treatment which requires electrons with an energy of 10 million electron-volts. Currently, accelerators of approximately 1 meter in size are used for such medical purposes. However, according to Tomash Khlub, the lead author of the study, it may be possible to replace them with chips as small as 1 centimeter in the future.
Scientists are now focused on developing a compact accelerator that could primarily be used in skin cancer treatment. Hommelhoff suggests, “We definitely should offer this idea to startups in the near future.”