Terahertz radiation source using an industrial electron linear accelerator

TL;DR

This paper proposes using high power industrial electron linacs with undulators to generate terahertz radiation, enhancing their utility for scientific applications while still enabling industrial use of the electron beam.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method to produce terahertz radiation using existing industrial linacs with undulators, maximizing their utility.

Findings

Terahertz radiation power of the order of microWatts can be generated.

The method allows dual use of the electron beam for industrial and scientific purposes.

Calculation results support the feasibility of the proposed terahertz source.

Abstract

High power ($\sim 100$ kW) industrial electron linear accelerators (linacs) are used for irradiation applications e.g., for pasteurization of food products, disinfection of medical waste, etc. We propose that high power electron beam from such an industrial linac can be first passed through an undulator to generate powerful terahertz (THz) radiation, and the spent electron beam coming out of the undulator can still be used for industrial applications. This will enhance the utilisation of a high power industrial linac. We have performed calculation of spontaneous emission in the undulator to show that for typical parameters, continuous terahertz radiation having power of the order of $\mu$W can be produced, which may be useful for many scientific applications.