Flash radiotherapy accelerator

An accelerator system for use in a flash radiotherapy system, comprising:

• a particle accelerator configured to receive charged particles;
• and
• a photoconductive switch coupled to the particle accelerator and configured to supply the particle accelerator with a plurality of voltage pulses, wherein the particle accelerator is operable to accelerate the charged particles based on the plurality of voltage pulses, and to produce an output beam comprising one or more radiation pulses for flash radiotherapy, wherein:
• the photoconductive switch is configured to receive light from a light source and to operate in response to the received light, the photoconductive switch being operable in a linear mode of operation in response to the received light,
• the photoconductive switch includes a doped crystalline material that is configured to receive a voltage from an energy source to establish an electric field across the crystalline material, and
• the photoconductive switch is operable to modify one or more of an amplitude, shape, spacing, number or width of the plurality of voltage pulses supplied to the particle accelerator.