Beyond conventional rf accelerators, dielectric laser accelerators (DLAs) are an emerging technology to generate high-energy electron beams at very short length scales, with numerous applications in medicine, manufacturing, and basic science. Current setups use a free-space laser beam to drive the accelerator, but an on-chip optical power-delivery system would give the precise control needed to dramatically scale up device length, for higher total energies. The authors investigate the challenges, constraints, and avenues for on-chip optical coupling, and verify that it is a promising route for moving DLAs from proof-of-principle to application.
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