Microscopy & Imaging
SLAC Fires up the World’s Most Powerful X-ray Laser Ushering in a New Era of Science
“LCLS-II is going to drive a revolution across many academic and industrial sectors.” Mike Dunne
Scientists from around the world celebrated as the newly upgraded Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) X-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (Menlo Park, California), produced its long-awaited fi rst X-rays on 18th September, 2023.
Researchers have been preparing for years to use LCLS II which, with its ability to produce up to a million X-ray fl ashes per second - 8,000 times more than its predecessor - is set to transform exploration of atomic-scale, ultrafast phenomena which are key to a broad range of applications, from quantum materials to clean energy technologies and medicine.
“The LCLS’s history of world-leading science will continue to grow with these upgraded capabilities,” said Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, Director of DOE’s Offi ce of Science. “I really look forward to the impact of LCLS-II and the user community on national science priorities, ranging from fundamental science research in chemistry, materials, biology and more; application of the science advances for clean energy; and ensuring national security through initiatives like quantum information science.”
Folks from the LCLS-II commissioning team gathered in the accelerator control room to celebrate fi rst light through the LCLS-II accelerator. (Matt Boyes/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory)
Greg Hays LCLS-II Project Director. The spot at the top left is the beam spot of the new X-ray laser. (Credit: Matt Boyes/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory)
Taking X-ray science to new levels
“This achievement marks the culmination of over a decade of work,” said Greg Hays, the LCLS-II Project Director. “It shows that all the different elements of LCLS-II are working in harmony to produce X-ray laser light in an entirely new mode of operation.”
“This upgrade will keep SLAC and the US at the forefront of X-ray science,” added Stephen Streiffer, SLAC’s interim Laboratory Director. “It’s all thanks to the amazing efforts of all parts of our laboratory in collaboration with the wider project team.”
Producing ultra-bright, ultra-short pulses of X-ray light that allow scientists to capture the behaviour of molecules, atoms and electrons, XFELs have been instrumental in many scientifi c achievements, including the creation of the fi rst ‘molecular movie’ to study complex chemical processes, watching in real time the way in which plants and algae absorb sunlight to produce all the oxygen we breathe and studying the extreme conditions that drive the evolution of planets and phenomena such as diamond rain.
“The light from SLAC’s LCLS-II will illuminate the smallest and fastest phenomena in the universe and lead to big discoveries in disciplines ranging from human health to quantum materials science,” said US Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “This upgrade to the most powerful X-ray laser in existence keeps the United States at the forefront of X-ray science, providing a window into how our world works at the atomic level. Congratulations to the incredibly talented engineers and researchers at SLAC who have poured so much into this project over the past several years, all in the pursuit of knowledge.”
Since the world’s fi rst hard XFEL at SLAC emitted x-rays in 2009, the vision for reaching ‘fi rst light’ on the upgrade began in 2010 and blossomed into a multi-year ($1.1 billion) upgrade project involving thousands of scientists, engineers and technicians across DOE, as well as numerous institutional partners, that enabled achievement of key milestones:
a. Start of construction: 26 March, 2016 b. Accelerator Tunnel Cleared: 21 Nov., 2016 c. Last cryomodule delivered: 23 Oct., 2020
d. First Cool-down of the superconducting accelerator from room temperature to 2K (-456 °F): 5 April, 2022 e. First accelerated electrons in the superconducting linac: 10 Oct., 2022
Asked about some of the major challenges surrounding these developmental stages, Greg Hays told International Labmate: “The project was presented as low risk and shovel-ready because all major technologies had already been demonstrated at other facilities around the world. Indeed, this was true for many of the individual technologies. However, it was also true that minor design changes were required to each of those systems in order to integrate them into the new machine. Therefore, integration became the challenge.
INTERNATIONAL LABMATE - NOVEMBER 2023
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