Microwave-powered accelerators are widespread in science, medicine and industry. We just demonstrated the photonic version on a chip, which accelerates and confines electrons in a channel of silicon nanopillars, enabling new chip-based radiation tools.
A presentation by Professor Peter Hommelhoff, Chair for Laser Physics at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-N.
About Peter Hommelhoff
Pre-diploma from TU Berlin and diploma in physics from ETH Zurich, PhD from LMU Munich with T. W. Hänsch, postdoc in Stanford with M. Kasevich, research group head at MPI for Quantum Optics.
Since 2013, Hommelhoff is professor of physics at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität in Erlangen. He received the Leibniz Prize of the DFG, a Leibinger Innovation Award, an ERC Consolidator and an ERC Advanced Grant, and is fellow of MPI for the Science of Light. His research interests include photonic particle acceleration, coherent light-electron coupling, attosecond physics at the surface of and inside of solids and new means to control electrons.
About Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-N, Chair for Laser Physics!
At the moment we work in three main branches of research that combine the topics of laser physics, quantum, electron, and nano optics, strong-field and attosecond physics, plasmonics and solid state research. We investigate the wave and particle properties of electrons in ultrafast processes in and at nano objects; we develop new particle traps to create quantum optical systems in order to build a quantum electron microscope; we use laser pulses at photonic nanostructures to look into novel concepts for particle acceleration.
The main part of our laboratory is centered around light-matter interaction on fastest time scales, namely the femtosecond and attosecond time scale (1 fs = 1 millionth of a billionth of a second, 1 as = 1 billionth of a billionth of a second). This allows us, to put it a bit more abstractly, to work towards understanding und utilizing photon-electron coupling in various systems. A part of this is based on highly advanced methods to control electrons, often with light fields, which requires building new laser sources and amplifiers.
For more information go to the website.
Professor Peter Hommelhoff is plenary speaker at the 2024 edition of the European Conference on Integrated Optics.