Design of a subnanometer resolution beam position monitor for dielectric laser accelerators

We present a new concept for a beam position monitor with the unique ability to map particle beam position to a measurable wavelength. Coupled with an optical spectrograph, this beam position monitor is capable of subnanometer resolution. We describe one possible design, and through finite-element frequency-domain simulations, we show a resolution of 0.7 nm. Because of its high precision and ultracompact form factor, this device is ideal for future x-ray sources and laser-driven particle accelerators on a chip. (C) 2012 Optical Society of America