Research Description
Howard (Ho Wai) Lee’s research focuses on developing compact particle accelerators by merging advanced nano-optical materials with laser wakefield acceleration. While traditional accelerators like the Large Hadron Collider require long electromagnetic channels, his apparatus offers a smaller-scale alternative using plasma waves to accelerate electrons and generate high-energy X-rays. However, gaseous plasma systems suffer from low light-to-electron conversion efficiency, limiting their practical use. Lee’s work explores solid-state materials and nanostructures under near-critical density conditions — where electron density matches the laser’s critical plasma threshold — to overcome this efficiency barrier. His team aims to build the first nanoscale accelerator that could enable localized medical therapies, including next-generation cancer treatments.
Research Impact
This project will lead to the demonstration of the first nanoscale accelerator emitting efficient high-energy X-ray, impacting plasma physics, nano/nonlinear optics, particle physics, and the biophysics community. It will also facilitate the development of ultracompact X-ray sources, a laser wakefield accelerator optical fiber endoscope probe for cancer treatment, and free electron laser/nonlinear devices for next-generation biomedical and imaging technologies. This project will also lead to significant fundamental insights into the potential utilization of nanoscale metasurfaces for the development of nanoscale particle accelerators and to create a new class of light-matter phenomena.
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related links
Experimental Physics Investigators Initiative 
Science
University of California, Irvine Department of Physics and Astronomy
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