Toward a THz free-electron laser in chip-format

In this project we combine the properties of photonic structures with the principle of electron beam based coherent radiation sources to come to the innovative concept of a photonic free-electron laser (pFEL). The distributed Bragg reflection of a photonic structure allows not only coherent coupling of a single electron beam with a co-propagating radiation field but also phase locking of a set of electron beams that flow in parallel through the photonic structure. Therefore the output power of a pFEL can be increased be adding more electron beams in parallel while the emitted radiation remains fully coherent. In this project we will research the pFEL concept with the aim of a very compact source generating Watt-level THz radiation.