Everything about Synchrotron Light totally explained
» This article is mostly concerned with applications of synchrotron radiation. For details of the production of synchrotron light, see synchrotron and synchrotron radiation.
Synchrotron light is
electromagnetic radiation produced by
bending magnets and
insertion devices (
undulators or
wigglers) in
storage rings and
free electron lasers. The major applications of synchrotron light are in
condensed matter physics,
material science,
biology and
medicine. A large fraction of experiments using synchrotron light involve probing the structure of matter from the sub-
nanometer level of
electronic structure to the
micrometer and
millimeter level important in
medical imaging. An example of a practical industrial application is the manufacturing of microstructures by the
LIGA process.
Beamlines
At a synchrotron facility, electrons are usually accelerated by a
synchrotron, and then injected into a
storage ring, in which they circulate, producing synchrotron radiation, but without gaining further energy. The radiation is projected at a tangent to the electron storage ring and captured by
beamlines. These beamlines may originate at bending magnets, which mark the corners of the storage ring; or
insertion devices, which are located in the straight sections of the storage ring. The spectrum and energy of X-rays differ between the two types. The beamline includes X-ray optical devices which control the
bandwidth, photon flux, beam dimensions, focus, and collimation of the rays. The optical devices include slits, attenuators, crystal
monochromators, and mirrors. The mirrors may be bent into curves or
toroidal shapes to focus the beam. A high photon flux in a small area is the most common requirement of a beamline. The design of the beamline will vary with the application. At the end of the beamline is the experimental end station, where samples are placed in the line of the radiation, and detectors are positioned to measure the resulting
diffraction, scattering or secondary radiation.
Experimental techniques and usage
Synchrotron light is an ideal tool for many types of research and also has industrial applications. Some of the experimental techniques in synchrotron beamlines are:
Some of the advantages of synchrotron light that allow for these practical uses are:
High energy X-rays - short wavelength photons which can penetrate matter and interact with atoms.
High concentration, tunability and polarization thus ensuring focusing accuracy for even the smallest of targets.
Compact synchrotron light sources
Because of the usefulness of tuneable collimated coherent electromagnetic X-Ray radiation, efforts have been made to make smaller more economical sources of the light produced by synchrotrons. One such effort has been undertaken by Lyncean Technologies, Inc. with their Compact Light Source (CLS)(External Link
). When compared to the size of the particle accelerators from which synchrotron light is derived, the CLS represents a 200 fold decrease in size. This reduction in scale should make synchrotron light accessible to many more labs and researchers.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Synchrotron Light'.
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