CLEAR

The CERN Linear Electron Accelerator for Research (CLEAR) is an electron test facility aimed at developing instruments and components for existing and future accelerators, testing novel concepts as plasma and THz acceleration, investigating medical applications of electron beams including dosimetry and FLASH radiotherapy, studying radiation hardness of electronics for aerospace and high energy applications and training the next generations of accelerator physicists.

CLEAR was proposed in order to address surplus demand for test-beam facilities in Europe. In particular, there was very little time available to users on accelerators with electron beams with an energy of a few hundred MeV, as these tend to be used in dedicated X-ray light-source and other specialist facilities. CLEAR therefore serves as a unique facility to perform R&D towards a wide range of accelerator-based technologies in this energy range. Independent of CERN’s other accelerator installations, CLEAR has been able to provide beams for around 35 weeks per year since 2018, as well as during long shutdowns, and even managing successful operation during the COVID-19 pandemic.