The Compact Linear Collider (CLIC) is a TeV-scale high-luminosity linear e+e− collider studied by the international CLIC and CLICdp collaborations hosted by CERN.

CLIC uses a two-beam acceleration scheme, in which normal-conducting high-gradient 12 GHz accelerating structures are powered via a high-current drive beam.

For an optimal exploitation of its physics potential, CLIC is foreseen to be built and operated in stages. The initial stage at a centre-of-mass energy of 380 GeV has a site length of 11 km. The 380 GeV stage optimally combines the exploration of Higgs and top-quark physics, including a top threshold scan near 350 GeV. A higher-energy stage, still using the initial single drive-beam complex, can be optimised for any energy up to 2 TeV. Recently (2025), parameters have been studied in detail for a 1.5 TeV stage, with a site length of 29 km. A 3 TeV version of CLIC using two drive beams, corresponding to a site length of 50 km, was developed earlier. 

The construction of the first CLIC energy stage could start as early as 2034 and first beams would be available a decade later, marking the beginning of a physics programme spanning 20–30 years.

• The CLIC Conceptional Design Review (CDR) was completed in 2012. 
• An updated staging baseline was published in 2016.
• In advance of the Updates on the European Strategy for Particle Physics (ESPPU) in 2018-2020, and again in 2025-2026, further CLIC studies were carried out and documented. These include the accelerator design, technology, and implementation aspects of the CLIC accelerator complex, as well as the CLIC physics potential and the detector design and technologies.

The CLIC accelerator collaboration and CLIC Detector and Physics collaboration together comprise around 400 participants from approximately 75 institutes worldwide. Additional contributions are made from beyond the collaborations.

Contact information

Click here to contact CLIC.