A charged particle accelerator having a curvilinear beam trajectory maintained solely by a laterally directed, constant electric field; requiring no magnetic field. A method for controlling the trajectory of a charged particle in an accelerator by applying only a constant electric field for beam trajectory control. Curvilinear steering electrodes held at a constant potential create the beam path. A method for making a chip-scale charged particle accelerator involves integrated circuit-based processes and materials. A particle accelerator that can generate 110 KeV may a footprint less than about 1 cm2.