Our project partners at the University of Stuttgart have published an important new study in Applied Sciences titled “A Small Linear Accelerator for Charged Microparticles.” The work presents a newly developed 6‑stage, 120 kV electrostatic linear accelerator designed to accelerate micron‑sized particles to precisely controlled speeds.
The system delivers acceleration ratios up to ×3, reaching velocities of up to ~1300 m/s, and can operate at rates of up to 33 particles per second. The LINAC autonomously selects the required number of acceleration stages to reach a target speed range, providing high flexibility for laboratory experiments.
This compact and efficient accelerator supports applications such as dust‑sensor calibration, impact physics and particle‑based surface processing and contributes directly to MADECOLD Project’s mission of advancing electrically driven particle acceleration technologies.