Led by Edward Snedden, the engineers and scientists of the FLT group apply their expertise in ultrafast laser systems, optics, and electronics in the development of advanced accelerator technology. The group operates three state-of-the-art laser laboratories on site, including the large-scale Lasers, Terahertz and Terawatt Experiments (LATTE) Laboratory. FLT is responsible for the laser and optical systems in the CLARA FEL test facility and supports the CLARA Photocathode Programme through access to high-precision surface metrology equipment through the Optical Metrology Laboratory.

The primary research interests of the group are:

· Laser-driven particle acceleration

· High field terahertz sources

· Electronic and optical femtosecond phase synchronization

· High resolution longitudinal particle beam diagnostics

· Machine learning for laser optimisation

The FLT group actively promotes academic collaboration in addressing the complex challenges of next-generation particle accelerators. It is a member of the Cockcroft Institute Terahertz Acceleration Group and is pursuing MeV-scale acceleration of charged particle beams using high-field terahertz radiation. The group regularly hosts national and international institutes as part of the CLARA Exploitation Programme, through collaboration centered on combined laser-electron beam experimentation in CLARA BA1. FLT is also currently contributing to several leading international accelerator developments including UK-FEL (Laser Systems, Synchronization), AWAKE (Synchronization) and EPAC (longitudinal particle beam diagnostics).

For further information on the group and its activities, please contact Edward Snedden. All group publications can be found in the ePublication Archive.