Lighting the path to innovationAustralian Synchrotron

What is a synchrotron & how does it work?

Australian Synchrotron

What is a synchrotron? A machine that generates brilliant beams of light by moving electrons through a strong magnetic field.

General Electric, 1947 European Synchrotron, Grenoble, France-- one of world’s largest at ~2km circumference

What is it?

Australian Synchrotron

Synchrotron - definitions

Machine that generates brilliant beams of light.

Collection of laboratories where the beams of light are used to investigate the structure and composition of samples.

Enabling technology because the research conducted using the facility leads to the development of new products and processes.

Scientific infrastructure where powerful techniques are used to perform value-adding research and development.

What is it?

Australian Synchrotron

Storage RingANKA, Germany

What does it look like inside?

How does it work?

Bending magnetApprox 7.5 tonnes

Australian Synchrotron

Creating the light

How does it work?

Australian Synchrotron

Electrons are generated here

And initially accelerated in the LINAC

How does it work?

Australian Synchrotron

Then they pass into the booster ring where they are accelerated to 99.9999% of the speed of light

How does it work?

Australian Synchrotron

And are finally transferred into the storage ring

How does it work?

Australian Synchrotron

Bending magnetSweeping searchlightAt each deflection of the electron path a beam of radiation is produced.

UndulatorProduces a very narrow beam of coherent light, amplified by up to 104

Types of light sources

Insertion devices - produce higher intensity

WigglerBeams emitted at each pole reinforce each other and appear as a broad beam of incoherent light.

How does it work?

Australian SynchrotronWhy is it special?

Australian Synchrotron

Why is wavelength important?

Why is it special?

Visible light X-rays

To penetrate a sample, you need a wavelength of similar, or smaller magnitude.

sample sample

Australian Synchrotron

Brilliant - many orders of magnitude brighter than conventional sources, enabling quick experiments on small samples.

Collimated - beam can be focussed down to less than a micron (10-6m) across, enabling chemical speciation to be mapped.

Polarised - linear polarisation, minimises background scattering, improves sensitivity

Pulsed - electron bunches produce light pulses, enabling process kinetics to be followed.

Continuous spectrum - from infrared to hard x-rays, optical devices select and scan the light’s energy.

Synchrotron light - properties

Properties

Australian Synchrotron

1. Brilliant - many orders of magnitude brighter than conventional sources, enabling quick experiments on small samples.

Properties of synchrotron light

Properties

Australian Synchrotron

2. Continuous spectrum - from infrared to hard x-rays

Properties

Australian Synchrotron

3. Collimated – the beam can be focussed down to less than a micron

4. Polarised – this minimises background scattering, improves sensitivity and enables measurement of circular dichroism

5. Pulsed – the electron bunches produce nanosecond light pulses, enabling process kinetics to be followed and ‘movies’ of reactions to be made.

Properties