Terahertz calculations for the Australian synchrotron Chien Aun Chan a , Samuel P. Mickan a , Gywn Williams b , Derek Abbott a a Centre for Biomedical Engineering (CBME) and Department of Electrical & Electronic Engineering, The University of Adelaide 5005, Australia. b Free Electron Laser Facility, Jefferson Lab, 12000 Jefferson Avenue, Newport News, VA 23606, USA ABSTRACT The development of terahertz radiation (T-rays) is spurring new applications in spectroscopy and imaging. To maximize the use of T-rays in more applications, a high average terahertz power is needed. Rather than using fast diodes or laser sources, this paper will show that a synchrotron can generate high average power T-rays. This is achieved by creating an electron bunch in the synchrotron ring with high intensity in the terahertz frequency region via Thomson scattering. Keywords: Synchrotron, Terahertz, T-rays 1. INTRODUCTION T-rays are a form of electromagnetic radiation, lying between millimeter waves and infrared radiation on the electromagnetic spectrum, as shown in the diagram below. T-ray radiation interacts in a unique way with matter, relating to rotational and vibration modes in gas, inter-domain movement in large biomolecules, and resonances in crystals. T- rays have been used to identify water levels in living tissue, measure the real-time ‘dressing’ of electrons in semiconductors 1,2,3 , detect malignant skin cancer 4,5 , and detect Anthrax-like spores in envelopes 6 . A newly accessible region of the electromagnetic spectrum will provide new technologies, especially if the low-power limitations of T-ray systems can be overcome. C. A. Chan Email: chien.chan@student.adelaide.edu.au ; S. P. Mickan Email: spmickan@eleceng.adelaide.edu.au ; G. Williams Email: gwyn@mailaps.org ; D. Abbott Email: dabbott@eleceng.adelaide.edu.au Photonics: Design, Technology, and Packaging, edited by Chennupati Jagadish, Kent D. Choquette, Benjamin J. Eggleton, Brett D. Nener, Keith A. Nugent, Proc. of SPIE Vol. 5277 (SPIE, Bellingham, WA, 2004) · 0277-786X/04/$15 · doi: 10.1117/12.553023 404