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Terahertz radiation sources based on free electron lasers and their applications

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Abstract

The tunability, high power and flexible picoseconds-pulse time structure of terahertz (THz) radiation make the THz free-electron laser (FEL) a very attractive THz source of coherent radiation. This paper focuses on the development and perspectives of THz radiation sources based on the FEL. The principles of the low gain THz FEL oscillator, the SASE THz FEL amplifier and the supperradiant THz FEL are reviewed briefly, and the key technologies of THz FEL, such as injector, accelerator, undulator and optical cavity, are discussed, respectively. The current status of and future prospects for THz radiation sources based on the FEL are emphasized in this paper. Recent research and development have shown bright future in free-electron laser (FEL) THz radiation sources. The potential applications can be carried out in the field of imaging, material research, biology medicine, communication, diagnostics and many others.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electronic and Information Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China

    Ping Tan & MingWu Fan

  2. College of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Advanced Electromagnetic Engineering and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China

    Jiang Huang, KaiFeng Liu, YongQian Xiong & MingWu Fan

Authors
  1. Ping Tan
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  2. Jiang Huang
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  3. KaiFeng Liu
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  4. YongQian Xiong
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  5. MingWu Fan
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ping Tan.

Additional information

TAN Ping was born in 1974. She received the Ph.D. degree in electronic science and technology from the Huazhong University of Science& Technology, Wuhan in 2004. Currently, she is a lecturer of Huazhong University of Science & Technology. Her research interests include terahertz source based on FEL, terahertz application and computational electromagnetics.

XIONG YongQian was born in 1966. He received the Ph.D. degree in electric machinery from the Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), Wuhan in 1995. Currently, he is a Professor at the HUST. His research interests include the FEL Terahertz source, Cyclotron, and New-type of electricmachines. Dr. Xiong is a member of China Electrotechnical Society and Chinese Nuclear Society.

HUANG Jiang was born in 1985. He received the Master degree from the Huazhong University of Science & Technology, Wuhan in 2009. Currently, he is a Ph.D. student in the field of College of Electrical & Electronic Engineering. His research interests include Numerical Analysis of Electromagnetic Field & Simulation of Beam Dynamics.

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Tan, P., Huang, J., Liu, K. et al. Terahertz radiation sources based on free electron lasers and their applications. Sci. China Inf. Sci. 55, 1–15 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11432-011-4515-1

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