Particle acceleration using top-illuminated nanophotonic dielectric structures

In dielectric laser acceleration, nanostructures etched into silicon are used to convert free-space ultrashort laser pulses, incident from the side and parallel to the wafer substrate, to accelerate particles. This current approach is experimentally challenging and, as it turns out, not quite necessary for most experiments and practical applications. Here, we experimentally demonstrate and numerically verify the efficacy of top-illuminated structures, and measure a maximum acceleration gradient of 49.2 ± 3.1 MeV/m. We discuss how, in practice, this approach proves superior to the current standard in the field, and expect it to become the definitive choice for nanophotonic particle laser acceleration.