Ushering in a Brilliant Future at Argonne’s Advanced Photon Source
2024年7月18日 - 10:12PM
ビジネスワイヤ(英語)
On a bright day in July, a crowd of hundreds gathered at the
site of the Advanced Photon Source (APS) in Lemont, Illinois to
welcome even brighter days ahead.
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Federal, state and local officials joined
Department of Energy and Argonne leaders to cut the ribbon on the
upgraded Advanced Photon Source on July 17, 2024. (Image by Jason
Creps/Argonne National Laboratory.)
The APS, a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science
user facility at DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory, has emerged
from a year-long shutdown ready for its second act. A comprehensive
upgrade to the facility is underway, and its centerpiece was the
removal of the original electron storage ring — installed in the
early 1990s — and the installation of a brand new one. Powered by
this new assemblage of magnets, vacuum chambers and wires, the
upgraded APS will generate X-ray beams that are up to 500 times
brighter than the already formidable beams of the original APS.
This puts the APS at the top of the list of the world’s
synchrotron X-ray light sources. The upgraded facility has been
operating for months, and scientific beamlines — the experiment
stations where data is taken and discoveries made — have been
gradually coming back online. When at its full brightness, the
upgraded APS will be untouchable in the realm of X-ray science,
enabling new insights and laying the groundwork for innovations in
every field imaginable.
“The upgraded Advanced Photon Source represents a significant
investment by the Department of Energy in the future of American
science and innovation,” said Harriet Kung, DOE’s Acting Director
for the Office of Science. “DOE’s mission is to enable research
that will help us tackle the energy challenges of the future, and
the advancements that will come from the renewed APS will chart
that path forward.”
The ceremony dedicating the upgraded APS featured remarks from
DOE Undersecretary for Science and Innovation Geri Richmond, along
with a bevy of elected officials, CEOs and laboratory leaders.
Richmond praised the APS’s contributions to American leadership in
science and technology.
“The Advanced Photon Source has been a preeminent destination
for the world’s scientists for decades, and with its expanded
capabilities, it will continue to set the bar for X-ray research
for decades to come,” Richmond said.
In a typical year, more than 5,500 scientists from across the
country and around the world use the APS to probe the secrets of
materials and natural phenomena. APS research tells us more about
the materials that make up the world we live in and lays the
groundwork for more durable microelectronic devices, longer-lasting
and faster-charging batteries and more portable and efficient solar
panels to combat the energy challenges of the future.
The upgrade to the APS has been more than a decade in the
planning and includes not just the new storage ring but several new
experiment stations — called beamlines — to take advantage of the
enhanced X-ray beams. The updated facility is powered by a
world’s-first injection technique called swap-out (see
infographic), and the new and enhanced beamlines offer scientists
new techniques to examine their samples in unprecedented
detail.
“The upgraded Advanced Photon Source will transform scientific
research at Argonne,” said Argonne Director Paul Kearns. “Together
with Argonne’s new exascale supercomputer, Aurora, the Advanced
Photon Source will empower scientists to make discoveries at
unprecedented speeds. No other research institution hosts a
comparable dynamic duo of technology, each boosting the power of
the other.”
With beamlines quickly returning to operation, the upgraded APS
is very nearly ready to resume its experimental program, welcoming
scientists back to conduct world-changing research. The storage
ring continues to ramp up to full power, and these early
experiments will be just the start. It’s clear the future of the
APS is bright indeed.
“Ten years ago, we could only imagine the extraordinary
capabilities the upgraded APS would offer,” said Laurent Chapon,
associate laboratory director for photon sciences and director of
the APS. “Now it’s here, thanks to the dedication and hard work of
an amazing team at Argonne, and we’re looking forward to decades of
discoveries by our user community. We can’t wait to get
started.”
“I’m immensely proud of the team and their work over the past
decade to realize the dream of the upgraded Advanced Photon
Source,” said Jim Kerby, APS Upgrade project director. “The skill,
ingenuity, drive and guts to make this happen are incredible. The
APS has been, and now with the Upgrade will continue to be a
world-leading scientific facility for decades to come. I can’t wait
to see the advancements that come from this research. They will
change our daily lives for the better.”
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Christopher J. Kramer Head of Media Relations Argonne National
Laboratory Office: 630.252.5580 Email: media@anl.gov