Beam production and energy gain measurements in a pyroelectric crystal accelerator

The production of electron beams has been demonstrated using a method incorporating field emission from nanotips within the strong electrostatic fields generated by pyroelectric crystals. We have described the production of persistent currents within a hollow channel along the axis of a lithium niobate crystal. In this poster we further report on the staging of multiple crystals to produce near-relativistic energy gains, and present energy and current measurements on accelerated beams. Output is compared with numerical models. This mechanism is potentially suitable as an injector for laser-powered acceleration structures, which have dimensions comparable to optical wavelengths and require injection of a near-relativistic beam to achieve high-quality output; other applications include miniaturized medical and industrial electron and x-ray sources.