Acceleration and manipulation of electron bunches underlie most electron and X-ray devices used for ultrafast imaging and spectroscopy. New terahertz-driven concepts offer orders-of-magnitude improvements in field strengths, field gradients, laser synchronization and compactness relative to conventional radiofrequency devices, enabling shorter electron bunches and higher resolution with less infrastructure while maintaining high charge capacities (pC), repetition rates (kHz) and stability. We present a segmented terahertz electron accelerator and manipulator (STEAM) capable of performing multiple high-field operations on the six-dimensional phase space of ultrashort electron bunches. With this single device, powered by few-microjoule, single-cycle, 0.3 THz pulses, we demonstrate record terahertz acceleration of >30 keV, streaking with <10 fs resolution, focusing with >2 kT m^–1 strength, compression to ~100 fs as well as real-time switching between these modes of operation. The STEAM device demonstrates the feasibility of terahertz-based electron accelerators, manipulators and diagnostic tools, enabling science beyond current resolution frontiers with transformative impact.

电子束的加速和操纵是大多数用于超快成像和光谱学的电子和 X 射线设备的基础。与传统射频设备相比，新的太赫兹驱动概念在场强、场梯度、激光同步和紧凑性方面提供了数量级的改进，从而在保持高电荷容量 (pC) 和重复率的同时，以更少的基础设施实现更短的电子束和更高的分辨率（kHz）和稳定性。我们提出了一种分段太赫兹电子加速器和操纵器 (STEAM)，能够在超短电子束的六维相空间上执行多个高场操作。使用这个由几微焦耳、单周期、0.3 THz 脉冲供电的单一设备，我们展示了创纪录的 > 30 keV 的太赫兹加速度，条纹 <^–1强度，压缩至 ~100 fs 以及这些操作模式之间的实时切换。STEAM 设备展示了基于太赫兹的电子加速器、操纵器和诊断工具的可行性，使科学能够超越当前分辨率前沿，产生变革性影响。