News & Events

Robert L. Byer
Co-Director, Hansen Experimental Physics Laboratory
Tomas Plettner, Eric Colby, Ben Cowan, Chris Sears, Jim Spencer and Robert H. Siemann

Acceleration of Electrons with Visible Light

Following his successful demonstration of acceleration of electrons in the first linear accelerator structure, W. W. Hansen submitted his brief final report to the Office of Naval Research consisting of a single sentence "We have accelerated electrons." More than one-half century later, after considerable effort, we have demonstrated electron acceleration with visible light. The experiment was performed in HEPL with the assistance of the Free Electron Laser superconducting accelerator and the FEL Center.

The next steps are to explore in detail accelerator structures based on photonic bandgap materials and to demonstrate bunching and acceleration of electron bunches in a multiple stage accelerator. The experiments will be conducted at SLAC in collaboration with the advanced accelerator groups. The ultimate goal is to reach acceleration gradients of 1GeV/meter such that the TeV physics frontier can be explored on the SLAC site.

Dr. Robert Byer’s areas of expertise include Laser diode pumped solid state lasers, nonlinear optics, nonlinear materials, optical parametric oscillators, Coherent Anti-Stokes Raman Spectroscopy (CARS), laser remote sensing, laser interferometers for gravitational wave detection, and laser driven electron particle acceleration. Dr. Byer participates and has received the following professional, scientific and honorary affiliations: IEEE Third Millennium Medal; A.L. Schawlow Award; R.W. Wood Prize; Quantum Electronics

Award; Quantum Electronics Awards; R.V. Pole Memorial Lecture; Adolph Lomb Medal; I.B.M. Fellow; Fellow, American Academy for the Advancement of Science; Fellow, American Physical Society; Fellow (and Former President), Lasers and Electro-Optics Society of the IEEE; Fellow, Laser Institute of America; Fellow (and Former President), Optical Society of America; Member, Secretary of Energy Advisory Board, National Ignition Facility; Member NRC Board of assessment of NIST; Member and Former Chair, California Council on Science and Technology; Member, National Academy of Science; Member, and National Academy of Engineering. Dr. Byer received his Ph.D. in Applied Physics in 1969 and M.S. in Applied Physics in 1967 from Stanford University, and B.A. in Physics from University of California, Berkeley in 1964. Dr. Byer currently serves as both the Co-Director of Hansen Experimental Physics Laboratory and as Co-Director of the Phontonics Research Center at Stanford University.

Location: Applied Physics 200
Wednesday, February 1, 2006 4:00 – 5:30 pm
Light refreshments available 4pm; Presentation begins 4:15pm. Open to all.