Accelerator Sources for THz Science: A Review

Free Electron Lasers have been around since 1977 providing not only a test bed for the physics of FELs and electron/photon interactions but as a workhorse of scientific research. More than 30 FELs are presently operating around the world spanning a wavelength range from the millimeter region to the hard x-ray using direct current and rf linear accelerators or storage rings as electron sources. The characteristics that have driven the development of these sources are the desire for high peak and average power, high micropulse energies, wavelength tunability, timing flexibility, and wavelengths that are unavailable from more conventional laser sources. Operation of FELs in the far infrared to terahertz regime poses special challenges which have been and are being addressed at a number of facilities around the world. This paper will review a number of former and existing FELs operating in this regime and discuss future efforts. Broadband collective radiation from relativistic electrons also plays a significant role in the production of FIR/THz radiation and several groups are taking advantage of this source for users. Applications for use of the radiation have evolved from simple imaging to complex pump probe tests of insulator/metal transitions and energy flow in organic molecules. We will discuss the technologies for generating the IR/FIR/THz radiation and cover some of the unique applications of such sources.