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European
Commission
Community research
Synchrotron Light and
Free-Electron Lasers
Project repor t
RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURES
IMPROVING THE HUMAN RESEARCH POTENTIAL AND
THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC KNOWLEDGE BASE
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Interested in European research?
RTD info is our quarterly magazine keeping you in touch
with main developments (results, programmes, events, etc.).
It is available in English, French and German. A free
sample copy or a free subscription can be obtained from:
Directorate-General for Research
Communication Unit
European Commission
Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat 200
B-1049 Brussels
Fax (32-2) 29-58220
E-mail: rtd-info@cec.eu.int
Internet: http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/rtd-info.html
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
Directorate-General for Research
Programme: ‘Improving the human research
potential and the socio-economic knowledge base’
Contact: C. Warden
European Commission
Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat 200 (SDME 3/46)
B-1049 Brussels
Fax (32-2) 29-63270
E-mail: campbell.warden@cec.eu.int
Website: http://www.cordis.lu/improving
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European Commission
Research infrastructures
Synchrotron Light and Free-Electron Lasers
Ten years of transnational research in Europe
The European Round-Table on Synchrotron Radiation and
Free-Electron Lasers
by Professor G. Margaritondo, Round-Table Coordinator
Editor: Campbell Warden (European Commission)
Improving the human research potential and the socio-economic knowledge base
Directorate-General for Research
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LEGAL NOTICE
Neither the European Commission nor any person acting on behalf of the Commission is responsible
for the use which might be made of the following information.
A great deal of additional information on the European Union is available on the Internet.
It can be accessed through the Europa server (http://europa.eu.int).
Cataloguing data can be found at the end of this publication.
Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 2000
ISBN 92-828-8506-2
© European Communities, 2000
Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.
Printed in Belgium
PRINTED ON WHITE CHLORINE-FREE PAPER
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Table of Contents
Page
5
FOREWORD
7
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
9
9
9
THE PRODUCTION OF X-RAY BEAMS
1. Introduction
2. How X-ray beams are produced
13
13
14
15
17
17
THE USES OF X-RAY BEAMS
1. Radiology
2. Crystallography
3. Chemical and Biochemical applications
4. Manufacturing
5. Fundamental Research
19
19
21
THE FUTURE
1. More Intense Sources
2. Increasing Variety of Usage
23
23
25
25
26
28
30
EUROPEAN COORDINATION
1. Transnational Usage
2. The “Round-Table”
– History
– Activities
– Results
– Looking to the future
31
31
ANNEX 1
Round-Table Membership
3
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The Synchrotron and Free-Electron Laser
(FEL) facilities participating in the RoundTable are located in seven different
countries and offer an advanced network
of experimental resources to all European
scientists.
11
10
6 5
4
2
8
3 9
12
13
1
7
Centres participating in the European Round-Table in Synchrotrons and Free-Electron Lasers
1. Elettra (Italy)
2. Bessy (Germany),
3. LURE (France),
4. SRS-Daresbury (United Kingdom),
5. HASYLAB (Germany),
6. EMBL-Hamburg (Germany),
7. EMBL-Grenoble (France),
8. FELIX (The Netherlands),
9. CLIO (France),
10. MAX-Laboratory (Sweden),
11. ISA (Denmark),
12. ANKA (Germany),
13. SLS (Switzerland).
4
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FOREWORD
Many fields of European research are underpinned by access to world-class research infrastructure. However,
the majority of such facilities are owned by National Government agencies and they are open only to their
national user community. In view of this, successive European Commission (EC) Research and Technological
Development Programmes, ‘Framework Programmes’, have created “Win-Win” situations by supporting
transnational access to a select group of outstanding research infrastructures.
A clear example of such mutual benefit is provided by the EC support of research infrastructures by funding
the activities of a series of Round-Tables, which have brought together the operators and representatives of
the user community of a particular class of facilities around a common research theme. This has enriched
the scope and impact of each group beyond its own narrow national boundaries. These Round-Tables have
been much more effective than ‘usual’ interactions between scientists because they have guaranteed the
participation of the full range of institutional facilities and the representatives of the users, avoiding
obvious problems of narrow or partisan actions. Their mission has focused on finding and implementing the
solutions to problems of common interest and seeding new transnational collaborations.
The EC support for transnational access and the Round-Table has made a major contribution to the
development over the last ten years of the field of Synchrotron Radiation and Free-Electron Lasers. More
than 36.7 million Euro has been allocated, primarily to support transnational users at national facilities,
with more than 600 scientists in the 1996-98 period alone, who performed hundreds of experiments that
would have been impossible without this support. This brochure has been prepared by the Coordinator of
the Round-Table for Synchrotron Radiation and Free-Electron Lasers and it provides useful information both
to the researchers active in this field and to those responsible for developing new research infrastructure
for it.
I am very pleased to present this excellent example of how to develop multi-national research co-operation
for those who are working in fields where such a highly developed culture of cross-border co-operation does
not yet exist. The EC wishes to continue to encourage such development. Therefore through the activity
“Enhancing Access to Research Infrastructures” of the Improving the Human Research Potential and the
Socio-economic Knowledge Base Programme, it will make available during the period 2000-2003 at least
180 million Euro to support access to top-class research infrastructure.
Achilleas Mitsos
Director
Improving the Human Research Potential and the Socio-economic Knowledge Base
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The Austrian Academy’s small-angle X-ray scattering beam line
is an excellent example of transnational use of a national facility.
The beam line enables Austrian scientists to take full advantage
of the Elettra Synchrotron in Italy – and enhances the international impact of Elettra. The diffraction pattern shown here
was taken at the Austrian beam line and reveals mesoscopic
order in rubber-like systems.
6
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Europe operates one of the most advanced synchrotron light sources in the world, namely the ESRF
(European Synchrotron Radiation Facility) in Grenoble. In addition, several countries have developed
smaller-scale Synchrotrons and Free-Electron Lasers that have advanced technical characteristics. In some
cases, synchrotron experiments strictly require the high-photon energies and specialised equipment of ESRF.
In other cases, European scientists can be equally, or even more efficiently, served by the “national”
facilities, provided that they have effective transnational access to them.
Thanks to the support provided under successive European Commission (EC) ‘Framework Programmes’, and
to the coordinating action of the Round-Table, the entire array of “national” Synchrotrons and Free-Electron
Lasers installed at the centres participating in the “European Round-Table in Synchrotrons and Free-Electron
Lasers”, were “opened up”. Without this, the typical users of these research infrastructures, who are from
small groups with limited resources, would have found it difficult to finance travel and subsistence, never
mind any user fees. Access was provided to qualified researchers from the EU and Associated States on the
basis of merit, after peer review. Although these facilities were developed as national institutions they now
constitute a superb research system that is serving the needs of both the European scientific community
and European industry. The figure opposite shows one of the many examples of the results of this
transnational access.
On 21 May 1999, scientists from all over Europe gathered in Paris for a symposium to celebrate the tenth
anniversary of the creation of the “European Round-Table for Synchrotron Radiation and Free-Electron
Lasers”. The research domains discussed at the meeting are presented in Chapter 4, “The Uses of X-ray
Beams”.
This brochure also contains:
• An explanation of how X-ray beams are produced (Chapter 3);
• a vision of the future, with some reasonable projections about “More Intense Sources” and the
“Increasing Variety of Usage” (Chapter 5);
• a synopsis of the role of the aforementioned Round-Table in coordinating these developments
(Chapter 6).
It is a pleasure for me to present this publication in the hope that its description of the past, present and
probable future, of X-Rays and their scientific uses, will be of interest, not only to the scientific community,
but also to funding agencies and policy makers.
Giorgio Margaritondo
Round-Table Coordinator
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THE PRODUCTION OF X-RAY BEAMS
1. INTRODUCTION
Light has always been a fundamental tool for exploring the physical world.
Progress in science goes in parallel with the technical progress in producing
and using “light” at different wavelengths to explore the physical world,
from our ancestor’s fires to the Röntgen’s X-rays and to modern lasers.
The effective production of light still encounters serious technical
difficulties. This is particularly true for “light” in the low-wavelength domain
of X-rays. Low-wavelengths are most effective to explore the inside of the
human body in radiology, to unveil the secrets of the chemical bonds in
molecules and solids and to explore the spatial arrangements of atoms in
the same systems. As a consequence, X-rays are in very high demand in
medicine, science and technology. Yet, until quite recently the available Xray sources were far from satisfactory.
Could we produce X-rays in the same way that we produce radio waves, by
forcing electric charges to oscillate along an antenna? The problem is that
X-ray wavelengths are extremely short (less than one tenth of a millionth of
a millimetre). Thus, the charge oscillation would have to take place at
extremely high frequency, which is technically impossible. The solution to
this problem is a clever use of Einstein’s theory of relativity.
2. HOW X-RAY BEAMS ARE PRODUCED
Suppose that an electron circulates in a ring-shaped tube under vacuum,
with its motion controlled by a well-designed system of electric and
magnetic fields. Imagine the electron in a portion of the ring free of forces:
elementary mechanics teaches us that the electron moves at constant
speed along a straight line.
Suppose now that this straight constant motion is slightly perturbed, by
inserting around the electron trajectory a periodic array of magnets. The
magnets force the electron to weakly “undulate” around its former straight
trajectory. Seen from the front, the electron looks very much like an
oscillating charge in a radio antenna. One can thus guess that the electron
emits “light”: that is, it emits electromagnetic waves, whose wavelength “λ”
equals the period “L” of the magnet array. A reasonable magnitude for the
period length “L” is a few centimetres, so “λ” should fall in the spectral
domain of radio waves.
This conclusion, however, is no longer valid if the electron moves along the
ring at very high speed, approaching “c”, the speed of light. Classical
physics is unable to provide correct answers, and we must analyse the
phenomenon using Einstein’s theory of relativity.
Röntgen discovered X-rays more than 100 years ago –
and almost immediately took the first radiological
image. After one century, however, X-ray sources have
not yet reached their best possible performances. The
text illustrates the best solution to this crucial problem.
The result is quite simple: from the point of view of the fast-moving electron,
the length “L” appears shorter because of the relativistic “Lorentz
contraction”. Thus, the emitted wavelength is also shorter. The contraction
2
is “L/γ”, where “γ” is the relativistic “gamma” factor γ = E/moc (mo =
electron rest mass). In other words, “γ” is the electron energy “E” measured
2
in units of Einstein’s electron “rest energy”, moc .
In a modern electron accelerator or storage ring, the gamma-factor is of the
3
4
order of 10 - 10 , shifting the emitted wavelength from the centimetre
range of “L” to the millimetre range. But this shortening is not the only
relativistic effect. In fact, L/γ is the emitted wavelength as it is observed
from the point of view of the emitting electron. Seen from the laboratory
reference frame, the electron is a fast moving source, thus its emitted
wavelength is subject to the shift called Doppler effect, the well-known
phenomenon which changes the pitch of a train siren as the train moves
with respect to us. The Doppler effect for light is a relativistic phenomenon,
and the corresponding wavelength change is an additional shortening by a
factor of approximately “2γ”.
9
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The two combined relativistic effects shorten the wavelength by an overall
2
2
2
6
8
approximate factor (γ)(2γ) = 2 γ , so that λ ≈ L/2 γ , with γ = 10 - 10 .
Thus, relativity takes a magnet-array period “L” of the size of centimetres,
-8
-10
and transforms it into a wavelength of 10 - 10 meters, typical of X-rays.
The above description, although simplified, includes the essential elements
of a Synchrotron X-ray source: a high-energy storage ring for circulating
electrons and one or more periodic arrays of magnets (called “wigglers” or
“undulators” depending on the strength of the magnets) in its straight
sections. One must add suitable beamlines to collect the emitted X-rays and
convey them into experimental chambers for a variety of practical uses.
How good is a synchrotron source with respect to other X-ray sources? We
must respond by considering the source brightness or brilliance. This notion
can be understood based on our everyday experience: a powerful light
source is often less useful than a very “bright” source. Compare for example
a normal lamp in the home to a torchlight. The latter may be less powerful
but it concentrates the light in a narrow cone, becoming very “bright” and
therefore useful to see things in a dark room. A similar conclusion is valid
for the headlights of a car or for a laser.
A synchrotron source is extremely bright: the electrons in the ring are
moving so fast that their emitted “light” – or synchrotron radiation – is
projected ahead and confined to an extremely narrow cone. A similar effect
is present for sound emitted by a train. Once again, however, relativity
intervenes pushing the effect to the limit. The angular aperture of the
emitted light cone is of the order of 1/γ and therefore not larger than
-3
-4
10 - 10 radians. Therefore a synchrotron source, without operating like a
laser, can nevertheless reach the angular collimation of a laser!
The quality of X-ray sources must then be assessed in terms of their
brightness. Unfortunately, X-ray brightness did not significantly improve
after Röntgen’s original devices and until the advent of synchrotron sources
in the 1960’s. During the 1970’s, 1980’s and 1990’s, spectacular advances
in synchrotron technology produced a brightness increase by some fifteen
orders of magnitude. By comparison, if the power of a common light bulb
had been increased by the same amount, its consumption would be one
hundred thousand times larger than the total power production of the
entire world!
The laser-like properties of synchrotron X-ray sources are extremely useful
for a broad variety of applications. In addition, the capability to control fastmoving electrons is exploited to construct true laser sources. Each type of
laser is based on optical phenomena occurring in an active medium; for
example, the laser source inside a compact-disk player uses a semiconductor
as active medium. Moving electrons interacting with a “wiggler” or an
“undulator” can also act so as to become an active medium producing laser
10
light. The corresponding device is called a Free-Electron laser or FEL.
Up until now, technical problems have confined the FEL technology to
rather long wavelengths: FEL were primarily used as very bright sources of
infrared light. But the technology is rapidly improving, and the first X-ray
FEL are under development. Their characteristics and applications
complement those of synchrotron sources.
Relativity at work to produce X-rays
First effect: Lorentz contraction, seen by the moving
electron, the undulator period L decreases to L/γ.
Second effect: Doppler shift, the “undulating” electron
emits synchrotron light of wavelength L/γ in its frame.
In the lab frame, the wavelength L/γ is Doppler-shifted
2
becoming ≈ L/2γ .
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A torchlight is a small-area source
with small angular divergence: its
brightness is high and it can illuminate
small areas with high intensity.
The advent of synchrotron sources
marked the beginning of spectacular
improvements in the performances of
X-ray sources. In particular, the source
brightness (in conventional units
photons/mm2/s/mrad2, 0.1% bandwidth)
has increased by one hundred thousand
billion times in 25 years.
1021
1018
1015
Advent of
synchrotron
sources
1012
109
106
1900
1940
1980
11
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THE USES OF X-RAY BEAMS
1. RADIOLOGY
Why are we so preoccupied about getting good sources of X-rays? The
answer is, of course, that X-rays are extremely important and useful. To
appreciate this point, we do not need to go beyond our everyday
experience. X-rays are the magic light which help us to “see” inside our
body, to find out what is wrong and what can be done about it.
Its usefulness notwithstanding, radiology is still subject to severe
technological limitations, primarily due to the X-ray sources. The human
and sociological consequences of this can be quite dramatic. Consider for
example breast cancer in women. With early diagnosis, very effective
therapies can beat this otherwise merciless murderer. But early diagnosis
would require regular X-ray screening, which raises concern because it
exposes the patient to a non-negligible radiation dose. Thus, early detection
is not yet systematically achieved, and breast cancer is still a major killer
disease.
Techniques like “phase-contrast” radiology or “diffraction-enhanced
imaging” yield excellent radiographs with a sharply reduced radiation dose.
Tests on anatomical specimens are very encouraging, and the first
experiments on human patients are underway.
Thus, some years from now, synchrotron sources could become as common
as the present X-ray sources in dental or medical clinics. But they will be
much more effective and safer. Furthermore, refractive-index-based
radiology can be used to “look inside” not only the human body, but also
technological materials.
Why are radiation doses still too high to be universally acceptable? A key
problem is that contrast in radiology is based on the different levels of Xray absorption by different tissues. However, as the variances between
tissues are quite small, obtaining good images requires non-negligible
amounts of X-rays.
One could adopt a completely different approach. When a light beam
travels in a semi-opaque solid, it is subject to different phenomena: it is
partially absorbed, but also refracted. Refraction means that the light beam
changes its direction. Such changes are particularly important at the
irregular border between two differently refracting regions, and can produce
sharp images of such borders. Likewise, other effects (such as Fresnel edge
diffraction) can produce border enhancement, which is also related to the
refractive index.
Border enhancement depends on how different the refraction and the
refractive index are between the two regions. Note that refraction
differences between different tissues are typically larger than the
absorption differences. Thus, refraction could be a very effective
replacement for absorption when performing a radiological analysis.
However this is quite unrealistic with conventional X-ray sources. Refractionbased imaging can be observed only if the light beam has a well-defined
direction, implying strong collimation. This can be observed with a laser, but
not with a light bulb whose emission is in all directions and, therefore, not
collimated.
Likewise, refraction-based radiology is impossible with conventional, noncollimated X-ray sources, which are comparable to light bulbs. Laser-like
synchrotron sources make it possible, producing very spectacular results.
Can we improve a radiological image without increasing the
X-ray dose? This is not easy with a conventional X-ray source.
When a synchrotron source is used, the image can be
dramatically improved while the X-ray dose is sharply reduced.
The possible medical applications of this technique are under
consideration at several European laboratories.
Figures courtesy of G. Tromba.
13
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2. CRYSTALLOGRAPHY
Crystallography has been described as a new window for biology and a key
to novel drugs. After radiology, it is the second most popular use of X-rays.
It is in fact an extremely useful technique to identify the positions of
individual atoms in solids and molecules. This technique is based on the
diffraction of X-rays by a system of periodically arranged atoms. Since the
spatial period is of the order of a few tenths of a millionth of a millimetre,
the diffracted wavelength must be in the spectral range of X-rays.
Crystallography has produced many fundamental results, such as the
“double helix” structure of DNA, and the highest number of Nobel awards
of all research techniques. Its applications are currently in a state of
explosive growth.
The fastest growing sub-domain is protein crystallography, a technique
which analyzes the structure of macromolecules formed by tens of
thousands of atoms. The proteins are “crystallized”, which means that they
are arranged in a periodic structure suitable for crystallography.
Synchrotron light is essential for protein crystallography. In fact, the most
powerful protein crystallography approach – known as “MAD” (Multiplewavelength Anomalous Diffraction) – requires adjustable wavelengths,
which only synchrotrons can provide.
The explosive growth of protein crystallography is the result of several
factors. First of all, the microscopic structure is extremely important in
biological systems. One striking example is the recently identified structure
of ATP-synthase, which enables this macromolecule to transform the energy
required for physiological functions. Synchrotron crystallography at the
Daresbury laboratory led to the clarification of this fundamental
mechanism in animals and humans, and to John Walker’s Nobel prize.
The second growth factor is that synchrotron crystallography is becoming
an essential tool for the pharmaceutical industry. Some of the most
advanced drugs mimic the local structure of viruses, to attack them and/or
inhibit their functions. The development of a single new product of this type
starts with the analysis of the microscopic structure of thousands of potential
drugs. Synchrotron sources are essential: they speed up the entire process,
and their brightness is required when the available specimens are too small.
Finally, crystallography is becoming a fundamental component of genomerelated research. The huge international effort to map the human genome is
well known. A crystallography programme of comparable magnitude is
under development, requiring synchrotron sources for three-dimensional
structure determination.
The above factors combined create an unprecedented demand for
synchrotron light and for the related crystallography facilities, as confirmed
14
Synchrotron-based crystallography is in a state of explosive
growth. Its applications range from fundamental problems
to very practical questions in pharmaceutical research.
Advanced crystallography techniques identify with high
accuracy the positions of thousands of atoms in complex
molecules. The figure shows one nice example: the overall
structure of Human Topoisomerase I in complex with DNA
determined by X-ray crystallography with data from SSRL,
NSLS, CHESS, and ESRF. Figure courtesy of M. Redinbo.
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by a recent comprehensive analysis of this domain by the European Science
Foundation. The growth rate exceeds all expectations, in particular for
genome-related studies. Even the most conservative projections predict a
sustained expansion for several years and then a steady use for at least two
decades.
In summary, crystallography has become the leading and fastest growing
application of synchrotron light. The related demand for synchrotron sources
strains the entire European network as well as facilities world-wide. This
enhances the need for open access and coordination.
3. CHEMICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL APPLICATIONS
A synchrotron source can be used as a powerful
“chemical” microscope: it reveals the chemical
structure of materials on the scale of a few ten
millionths of a millimetre. The figure shows a rather
spectacular example: the phenomenon of “chemical
waves” on a metal surface, imaged by scanning
photoelectron spectromicroscopy by M. Kiskinova
et al.
Synchrotrons and FEL have been used for decades to perform extremely
accurate chemical analysis. Techniques like photoelectron spectroscopy, Xray absorption and infrared spectroscopy deliver detailed information not
only on the chemical composition but also on the chemical status of each
element and on the fine properties of the corresponding chemical bonds.
The recent novelty is high lateral resolution. In the past, synchrotron-based
chemical analysis was blind to important properties on a scale of less than
one-tenth of a millimetre. At present, the scale reaches twenty billionths of
a millimetre. Important examples are photoelectron spectromicroscopy with
synchrotrons and scanning near-field optical microscopy (SNOM) with FEL.
Microscopic-scale chemical analysis is extremely important for many
reasons. For example, it can detect fundamental microscopic mechanisms
that are invisible to conventional techniques. Moreover, by reducing the
probed area, chemical analysis increases its minimum detectable
concentration of trace elements.
There are important applications in biological and ecological research. In
biology, the typical scale length is that of cells and of cell components: a
fraction of a thousandth of a millimetre. Analysis on that scale investigates
the chemistry of physiological, pathological and therapeutic mechanisms.
For example, one can detect trace contamination of cells due to pollution,
or assess the effectiveness of chemical therapies of several types of cancer.
In ecology, microscopic-scale analysis detects pollution-related trace
contamination of solid specimens. For example, it can detect radioactive
contamination in specimens with extremely limited overall radioactivity,
which are easy to handle and transport. It can also detect minute amounts
of contamination in food products.
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How can one fabricate moulds on the scale of a few
thousandth of a millimetre? The accompanying text
reveals the secret: the synchrotron-based technique
known as “LIGA”.
0.1 mm
0.01 mm
1 cm
Microfabrication with Synchrotron radiation can squeeze
a turbine into less than one-half millimetre. Fabrication
technologies of this type may trigger a new industrial
revolution, similar to the miniaturisation of electronic
devices three decades ago.
0 cm
In a simple metal, a current-carrying “free” electron is
actually subject to many forces due to atoms and other
electrons. Amazingly, it still behaves pretty much like an
electron which is really free – as proposed by the theory
known as “Fermi liquid”.
-e, s
-e, s
-e, s
-e, s
-e, s
-e, s
-e, s
-e, s
-e, s
-e
-e, s
-e
-e, s
s
-e
s
-e
-e
-e s
s
s -e
16
s
s -e
s
-e
-e
-e
In low-dimensional metal this may no longer be true. Instead
of electron-like “quasiparticles” with charge and spin, one
might have particles with charge and no spin (holons) and
particles with spin and no charge (spinons). Sophisticated
Synchrotron spectroscopy experiments are excellent tools to
explore this intriguing possibility.
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4. MANUFACTURING
5. FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH
X-rays are a tool not only for medical, biological and materials analysis, but
also for industrial fabrication. Advanced processing in microelectronics is
based on photolithography. The ever-increasing miniaturisation requires light
with shorter and shorter wavelengths. The present fabrication uses
ultraviolet sources, and many experts believe that X-ray lithography will be
next.
The practical use of Synchrotrons and FEL goes hand-in-hand with many
applications in fundamental science. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy with
Synchrotron light is an excellent example. Its energy resolution, limited to
50 millivolts until quite recently, now reaches 4-5 millivolts. This unlocks a
new world of unexplored phenomena.
Many synchrotrons host research and development programmes in X-ray
lithography. This technique is already mature and ready for use by industry,
when the need arises. Microelectronics lithography is a two-dimensional
process, since the fabrication of complex devices is performed layer-by-layer.
X-rays, however, can also penetrate in the third dimension, and can be used
to fabricate ultraprecise moulds for micromechanical parts. Therefore,
another type of X-ray lithography is under development for micromechanics,
“LIGA”.
With collimated synchrotron light, one achieves almost incredible levels of
mechanical accuracy. Microparts can be as small as a few thousandths of a
millimetre and their walls can be as accurate as a fraction of a thousandth
of a millimetre. These futuristic microfabrication techniques are preparing
the way for new industrial revolutions. For example, functions now digitally
handled by microelectronic devices could be performed by analogic
micromechanical devices. “Smart pills” could release drugs according to the
patient’s needs, measured by built-in chemical sensors and controlled by
built-in microcomputers. From a more mundane point of view, many
industries will benefit from extremely high accuracy in fabricating
microfilters for liquids.
Condensed matter “seen” with an energy filter of 50 millivolt is pretty well
understood; when the filters shrinks to 4.5 millivolts, it reveals mysterious
aspects. With 50 millivolt resolution, the free-electrons in a metal behave
almost like free-electrons in vacuum, still “looking like” charged particles
with 1/2 spin. The theoretical framework is the Fermi liquid, which explains
the properties of a metal treating its electrons as a “liquid” of nearly-free
particles.
The Fermi liquid is the very foundation of solid-state science. But this
foundation becomes shaky when low-dimensional solids are observed with
a 4-5 millivolt resolution filter. Sometimes, one no longer observes anything
similar to electrons with charge and spin. Instead, particles with spin and
no charge (spinons) and particles with charge and no spin (holons), can be
“seen”.
The “accepted” understanding of ‘free-electrons’ and ‘Fermi liquid’ breaks
down in these extreme cases. This is a rather revolutionary result, made
possible by advanced Synchrotron sources. Theories beyond the Fermi liquid
are rare and of limited scope. Until now, they were not really needed. But
this has been changed by Synchrotron light and ultra-high resolution. The
impact is likely to be quite strong, for example on high-temperature
superconductivity.
Fifty years ago, the first steps in electronic miniaturisation prepared a
complete revolution of our lifestyle. The present first step in micromechanics
could lead to a comparable result, and Synchrotrons will be the leading
players.
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THE FUTURE
1. MORE INTENSE SOURCES
Today’s Synchrotrons and FEL are so powerful that they defy imagination.
However, this does not mean that progress in this area has come to a halt,
as amazing new sources are foreseen, with many new opportunities.
Consider, for example, the equivalent heat flux of synchrotron light beams.
Current sources, such as Elettra and Bessy II, are roughly comparable to the
interior of a rocket nozzle. This means that they are ten times above a
nuclear reactor core, and only 7-8 below the surface of the Sun! New
synchrotron sources, such as the Swiss Light Source, will be even more
powerful.
Synchrotron light (left) challenges the Sun (right): the thermal
equivalent of a synchrotron source is not much lower than
that on the Sun’s surface!
FEL are approaching an even more radical revolution. For many decades,
researchers have dreamed of “X-ray lasers”. This dream is now close to
reality.
One major obstacle in building an X-ray laser is the optical cavity. In a
visible or infrared laser, the cavity, formed by two mirrors, encloses the active
medium enhancing the laser action. However, no mirrors exist for X-rays so
no optical cavity can be constructed. Therefore the laser action must be
extremely effective, with no need for cavity enhancement. In a Free-Electron
Laser, the required effectiveness can be reached with a mechanism called
“Self-Amplified Spontaneous Emission” (SASE). This mechanism requires
precise handling of the electron beam, by a very powerful and sophisticated
linear accelerator (LINAC) and by a “wiggler”.
The SASE concept is under test to see how far it can be extended to short
wavelength. If X-ray wavelengths are reached, a SASE FEL will produce
ultrarapid X-ray bursts with unprecedented peak brightness. The peak
brightness could in fact increase by more than ten orders of magnitude with
respect to the most powerful synchrotrons.
These novel sources would open up many new research opportunities,
however they would not replace synchrotrons. Consider the analogy with
continuous (CW) lasers and pulsed lasers. The latter emit very powerful,
short pulses used for many applications, but cannot be used for equally
important experiments requiring CW light. The projected European scenario
must then include synchrotrons, as well as pulsed FEL. European users will
thus have access to the most suitable source for each specific application.
Europe is at the forefront of progress in X-ray sources. Laser-like
devices based on the “Self-Amplified Spontaneous Emission”
(SASE) mechanism could soon boost the peak output by many
orders of magnitude. This is an image of the construction work
of the TESLA instrument at HASYLAB (Hamburg). TESLA is
designed to test the SASE concept.
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Several areas of synchrotron-based research are
rapidly expanding, and the demand for synchrotron
beamtime is increasing. The expansion is
demonstrated, for example, by the exponential
growth in the number (vertical axis) of
macromolecular structures deposited each year
(horizontal axis) at the Brookhaven Protein Data
Bank. Most of the structures are now solved using
synchrotrons at least in the final stage.
Europe’s response to the increasing
demand for synchrotron beamtime:
building new facilities – like the
new high-brightness Bessy II
Synchrotron in Berlin shown here –
and opening them to transnational
users with the help of the EC’s
Access Programme.
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2. INCREASED VARIETY OF USAGE
When synchrotron light research started in the 1960’s, no one predicted its
future impact. The USA, a pioneering country in this domain, could not
guarantee that it would be used by more than four different research
groups and projections in Europe were similarly conservative. These proved
to be complete underestimates: American and European Synchrotrons are
used every year by tens of thousands of groups.
The reasons behind this growth are now quite clear. Electromagnetic waves
are a truly basic tool for exploring the physical world. This tool is not
confined to one discipline, but is universally used in all branches of science
and technology. Synchrotrons and FEL produce the best possible
electromagnetic waves in two key spectral domains: X-rays and infrared
light. As a result, experimental researchers in many different disciplines use
them.
Multidisciplinarity is resulting in a strong increase in the number of
potential and actual users of Synchrotrons and FEL. In the early stages of
synchrotron light research, most users were atomic, molecular and solidstate physicists. The situation is entirely different now. Physics is a minority
area, balanced by other prominent disciplines, with chemistry and biology
at the forefront. Also, new areas like medical research, industrial fabrication
and environmental studies are growing rapidly. The second growth factor
mentioned earlier was the explosive increase of synchrotron-based
macromolecular crystallography. This requires the use of synchrotron light
for the long-term, systematic, study of tens of thousands of systems.
Synchrotron-based research reaches new
domains and new users: these X-ray
micrographs, produced by the Bessy
facility, may help the efforts to find a new
vaccine for malaria.
The exponential increase in demand has stimulated new construction
projects such as the Swiss Light Source, Anka in Germany, Siberia II in
Russia and Diamond in the UK. However the demand will continue to
outstrip the available beamtime so regrettably synchrotron laboratories
must reject many excellent proposals. New sources and new research
facilities are needed.
Furthermore, we must guarantee optimum use of all European facilities,
beyond national barriers. This is a key objective for the EC “Enhancing
Access to Research Infrastructures” programme and for the Round-Table’s
coordinating activity.
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EUROPEAN COORDINATION
1. TRANSNATIONAL USAGE
The demand for synchrotron beamtime is so high that most individual
European countries cannot meet the needs of their national users. Effective
solutions have been implemented in two directions. First, the construction
of the pan-European ESRF laboratory in Grenoble. Second, the EC
transnational access programmes.
Using sources beyond national boundaries is an old tradition of Synchrotron
and FEL research. Users systematically travel to facilities in other countries
and other continents, as required by their research needs. This is due in part
to the world-wide scarcity of beamtime: researchers go wherever beamtime
is available. But there is a second important factor: each Synchrotron and
FEL source is a rather unique facility. The source characteristics and the
available instrumentation change from facility to facility. In many cases, a
specific application requires a specific laboratory. Users must travel to the
best source for their research, no matter where it is geographically located.
This tradition of transnational access has very positive aspects. Forced to
leave the narrow boundaries of their home laboratories, the users are
exposed to a wealth of new results and new ideas. Synchrotrons and FEL
laboratories are exceedingly fertile breeding grounds for new science and
technology. However such transnational access cannot be taken for
granted. Outsiders may see many users from other countries at their own
national facility, and wonder who is paying the related costs. This may lead
to a simplistic but very negative measure: user fees. But, what is negative
about user fees? The answer is well known to all scientists: every time
research funds change hands there is an administration cost (“overhead”)
which decreases the money really spent for research.
This clashes with practical problems. Many interested users do not have the
resources to travel to facilities in other countries and support their activities
there. National facilities do not have the resources to serve the particular
needs of transnational users. In European Union, the solution is provided by
the EC access programmes.
By means of the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th Framework Programmes, the
European Commission has taken very effective action based on the specific
programmes “Large Installation Plan” (1989-91), “Human Capital and
Mobility” (1992-94), “Training and Mobility of Researchers” (1994-98) and
the present “Improving Human Research Potential” (1998-2002). For
Synchrotrons and FEL, individual contracts were established with an
increasing number of national facilities. The corresponding funds covered
the travel and lodging expenses of transnational users and the facility
expenses arising from transnational use. In addition, special contracts
enabled facility consortia to jointly develop instruments of common
interest, which increase or substantially improve the transnational access.
The impact of all of the aforementioned EC programmes has been
strong, broad and very positive. They have transformed the idealistic,
theoretical, notion of “open doors” into a solid reality and at the same time
they also stimulated many novel forms of European cooperation. Above all,
by means of the SR and FEL Round-Table they have transformed a loose
group of national facilities into a superb pan-European integrated system
for science and technology.
Overhead rates may be rather low in some institutions, but range up to the
typical 35-50% university level in the USA and to the realistic 120-150%
level charged by some private companies. Whatever the overhead, every
money transfer causes an unnecessary waste. Yet, the menace of user fees
always seems to be around the corner.
The best way to avoid it would be the traditional and wise policy of
reciprocal open doors. In the case of EC countries, member states open up,
to a certain extent their national facilities to transnational users without
any fee. The compensation for each “donor” state is the open use by its own
scientists of other facilities in other countries. The management is simple
and the waste is eliminated.
The advantages of “open doors” are quite obvious, but this policy remains
vulnerable. It is often the target of unjustified political attacks. Its survival
depends on the continuing consensus of participating countries. Above all,
the “open doors” policy must be a reality not just an ideal.
Reciprocal open access to national facilities is an excellent way to
make good use of research money – and to enable transnational
users to obtain advanced results like this photoelectron
diffraction pattern produced by Elettra.
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Circular polarization is the subject of a successful
EC-supported collaboration involving several
European Synchrotrons. The image shows an
electromagnetic elliptical wiggler source of circularly
polarised light.
The Round-Table coordinates synchrotron sources as
well as Free-Electron Lasers, such as this advanced
source at the FELIX instrument of the FOM laboratory
in the Netherlands.
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2. THE “ROUND-TABLE”
History
Convincing everyone of the validity of the “open door” policy for the
European system of Synchrotrons and FEL is not a trivial task. The EC
support is extremely effective in promoting new experiments and new
collaborations. Nevertheless, some outsiders may superficially believe that
it is just more money for “big science”. This is very far from reality, but even
an unjustified negative image can cause a lot of damage. However this can
be countered in two ways.
Bradshaw (then director of Bessy) and the late John Fuggle (of the
University of Nijmegen) took the initiative to organise three seminal ECsupported symposia in Berlin, Athens and Madrid, to debate the hot topic
“VUV/XUV Synchrotron Radiation – Future Developments in Europe”.
Shortly afterwards, the Synchrotron Round-Table was born.
In subsequent years, the Synchrotron Round-Table activities became well
established, in particular thanks to the illuminated action of the first
Round-Table Coordinator Ian Munro, who was also the director of the
Daresbury Synchrotron. The basic idea was quite simple: all facilities
receiving EC money for transnational use agreed to participate in a
coordinating body, the Round-Table, together with representatives of the
user community and of other Synchrotron and FEL centers. The immediate
objectives were: (1) to improve the facility service to users; (2) to reciprocally
illustrate the use and impact of EC access support; (3) to facilitate
exchanges; (4) to identify and eliminate, or prevent, waste and duplication;
(5) to identify and promote novel ways for transnational cooperation.
The facts prove that such a bottom-up approach is extremely successful. So
successful that, as was already mentioned, it now constitutes a useful model
of EC coordination.
First of all, scientists and the general public must be made aware of the real
nature of these programmes. They should realise that the research
supported, although using big centralised instruments, is not “big science”.
Most Synchrotron and FEL user groups are small University teams and have
limited resources. Part of their research is performed in their home
laboratories. Travelling to a centralised facility for special experiments does
not change the “small-science” nature of their activities, but it gives them
access to extraordinary additional opportunities. In addition, these visits
provide the groups with an opportunity to break out of the boundaries of
their home institutions, find new ideas and initiate new collaborations. The
best definition of Synchrotron light and FEL research is, “small science at
large shared facilities”.
Secondly, the optimisation of the use of the EC’s support for open-door
access must guarantee that there is neither waste nor duplication. This is
not an easy task, because each facility needs to preserve its independence.
The Round-Table was developed as a simple and effective solution to this
problem. The solution was developed by the scientists directly concerned
rather than imposed from above. In 1989, while the European Research
Council was close to the adoption of the “Large Installation Plan”, Alex
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Activities
How does the Round-Table achieve its ambitious objectives? To understand
this point, we must see a bit more in detail how the Round-Table operates.
Its activities fall into three different domains:
1. Providing a Forum for a European-level discussion among Synchrotron
and FEL users, the facilities’ management and other European facilities
in the same field;
2. Providing up-to-date documentation on Synchrotron and FEL activities,
for experienced and potential users and for anyone interested in these
topics;
3. Supporting specialised workshops and other initiatives to help users
and facilities to develop new transnational cooperation activities.
The “forum” role is the oldest mission of the Round-Table. Once a year – or
more often if required – representatives of both the users and the operators
of European Synchrotrons and FEL convene at one of the facilities. They
present data on the EC-supported use of national laboratories, including
new initiatives for instrumentation and beamlines.
By comparing data, facilities can improve their use of EC funds. Where there
is duplication this can be openly debated and eliminated. The discussion is
both informal and to the point, therefore it is very effective.
Round-Table meetings are quite unique with respect to other opportunities
for interaction such as professional conferences. First of all, they are “full
immersion” events entirely dedicated to the exchange of ideas, which
constitutes their primary objective. Second, they involve the entire body of
facilities in Europe and official representatives of their users, rather than an
arbitrary subset. Third, they are regular rather than sporadic events, so that
new initiatives are not merely stimulated but also monitored and if
necessary corrected. In a sense, the difference between Round-Table
meetings and other interaction opportunities is like that between the
official meetings of a company shareholders and the interactions between
individual shareholders at social events: both are important, but the first is
truly essential.
The documentation task – which is the second activity area of the RoundTable – is interactively managed through the Daresbury and Elettra WWW
homepages. The foundation is a comprehensive databank including all of
the Synchrotrons and FEL, both in Europe and in the rest of the world, with
detailed data on instrumentation and activities. Although the databank is
interactively updated by the facilities themselves, “external users” can
extract data concerning the present and foreseeable use of Synchrotron
light and FEL. This is an extremely important point because strategic
research decisions at the European level cannot be based on arbitrary
opinions or guesses. The Round-Table can provide expert advice based on
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Round-Table documentation is provided on the net by the
Daresbury laboratory: entry point. The documentation
concerns synchrotrons, FEL and macromolecular
crystallography facilities in Europe and in the world.
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facts, guiding such debates towards reality. Such advice has been provided
in several cases as an input to the assessment of the impact of new
Synchrotron and FEL projects.
The need for documentation is particularly important at the present time.
The spectrum and quantity of FEL and synchrotron activities is changing
dramatically. New trends like the explosive growth of synchrotron-based
crystallography could not be predicted. But the Round-Table did warn all
concerned parties at an early stage, and this was made possible by its
continuous monitoring of the situation.
The Round-Table documentation is also important for constructive
interactions with other organizations, which are responsible for monitoring
and planning research. Constructive interactions of this kind have included,
for example, the Megascience Forum of the Organisation for Economic
Cooperation and Development and the European Science Foundation.
The third, and possibly most important aspect of Round-Table activity, is
identifying directions in which new transnational cooperation would be
desirable and this is in line with the philosophy of EC Concerted Actions.
The necessity for action is quite clear in the case of Synchrotron and FEL
laboratories, since several facilities, and/or user groups, often share the
same technical problems. The “open door” policy would be to a large extent
meaningless without the optimisation of resources through transnational
cooperation. The Round-Table must therefore provide effective ways to
identify, trigger and monitor cooperative activities.
Some of the Workshops supported recently by
the Round-Table
• “Characterisation of the Photon Beam Emitted by the VUV
SASE-FEL” at DESY (HASYLAB 1998)
• “Current Development of FEL” (Max-Lab 1998)
• “Modern Developments in the Field of VUV Low-Energy X-ray
Optics for Synchrotron Radiation” (BESSY 9198).
• “Focused Monochromators” (SLS-Daresbury 1999).
• “Updating the Scientific Case for the SASE-FEL Under
Construction at DESY” (HASYLAB 1999).
• “X-ray Structure Solution on line: Implications for Structural
Genomics” (EMBL Hamburg 1999).
• “Synchrotron Radiation in Archaeometry” (SLS- Daresbury
1999).
• “Optics for Third Generation Sources” (BESSY 1999).
Some of the Schools supported recently by the
Round-Table
• European Synchrotron Radiation Society School (1999)
• Santa Margherita di Pula Synchrotron Radiation School (1999)
The main practical tools are specialised workshops for which partial RoundTable support is provided. These workshops are specifically dedicated to
initiatives where transnational cooperation appears to be both possible and
desirable. The decisions about sponsoring specific workshops are made
collectively by all of the users’ and facilities’ representatives, based on the
documentation presented by the workshop organisers. In particular, the
documentation must show that the proposed topic can indeed lead to
desirable cooperation between EC countries.
• Hercules School on Synchrotron Radiation and Neutrons
(Grenoble 1999 and 2000).
Quite recently, the Round-Table also decided to support postdoctoral
schools that prepare the new generations of European Synchrotrons and
FEL users. This decision has already been implemented, for example, by
providing partial support to the 1999 “Hercules School” in Grenoble.
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Results
The Round-Table is basically a service instrument to facilitate and monitor
transnational cooperation and access in Europe for Synchrotron and FEL
activities. Therefore, any assessment of transnational cooperation and
access activities is also, indirectly, an assessment of the Round-Table. Such
an assessment must rely on facts. An excellent data source for transnational cooperation and access is the “1998 EC Survey of the Users of
Large-scale Facilities”.
The survey revealed the dramatic evolution of the Synchrotron and FEL
activities in Europe (as in the rest of the world). A few years ago, they were
dominated by physics with a minority role of chemistry. Physics is now a
minority area (46% of European users), with a strong role of chemistry
(28%) and biology (18%), plus smaller percentages for engineering and
other areas. The present trends accentuate this evolution, projecting biology
as the leading area in the future (see figure).
other
biology
physics
chemistry
Distribution by discipline of EC-supported
access to Synchrotron Sources and FEL
(1998 survey).
These trends are in harmony with the strongly multidisciplinary character of
the Round-Table and with its increasing attention to biology. The RoundTable members include the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL,
Hamburg and Grenoble outstations). As a general philosophy, we strongly
believe that multidisciplinarity is extremely good for Synchrotrons and FEL.
The survey clearly demonstrated that EC support for transnational access
paves the way to very many experiments and results which would have been
otherwise impossible. An overwhelming majority (84%) of Synchrotron and
FEL users stated in fact that the EC access support was essential for their
experiments. Furthermore, the large majority of the supported users (78%)
are satisfied of the overall service provided by the host facilities.
The essential EC access support yielded a large number of scientific results
and publications (on the average, 5.5 per users). As to the issue of women
scientist promotion, there is ground for optimism. True, the access of women
scientists is still below acceptable levels. But the percentage of women
among Synchrotron and FEL users in Europe (28%) is much higher than for
other types of facilities, and steadily improving.
The EC access support is particularly important for young users.
Approximately 2/3 of the benefiting scientists is below 39 years of age,
and more than 1/3 is postdoctoral fellows and doctoral candidates.
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The EMBL participation in the Round-Table (with its
Grenoble and Hamburg outstations) reflects the
growing importance of biology in synchrotron
research.
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The survey also clarifies the user motivation for transnational access. In
many cases, users travel to a foreign facility simply because there is no
similar facility in their own country. But this is not always true: many ECsupported scientists are from countries with an excellent synchrotron
infrastructure, like Germany and the UK. The motivation is to find the best
possible instruments for their research. No single facility or country can
develop all types of beamlines and instrumentation, therefore transnational
access is a necessity for many experiments.
We should note that such statistical data, however positive, cannot possibly
convey the entire message about the importance of the EC access support,
nor that of the Round-Table coordination. Each one of the experiments that
are made possible by this support is a fascinating story, rich of scientific as
well human aspects. During the 10-year celebration meeting in Paris, many
such stories were presented. The success of the EC access programmes and,
indirectly, that of the Round-Table can also be illustrated by the
corresponding list of talks (see list below).
In addition to transnational access, the EC also supports cooperative
projects for new instrumentation of common interest, in particular
instrumentation for transnational users. The resulting construction of
instruments by several facilities in different EC countries is one of the most
tangible results of transnational cooperation. And one of the areas in which
the “seeding” and monitoring role of the Round-Table is most important
and most visible.
Several recent examples can be mentioned: projects on detectors and
beamline optics, those concerning circular polarization and its standardized
measurements, the programme for the development of new storage-ring
based FEL sources for the ultraviolet light, the collaboration for networkbased management of user offices, and others. In each one of these cases,
the essential impact of the preliminary and follow-up actions of the RoundTable is quite evident. For example, much such transnational collaboration
are prepared and facilitated by Round-Table-supported workshops and by
collegial discussions within the Round-Table framework.
These actions make it possible to identify the most promising
instrumentation topics for which transnational cooperation is needed. They
bring together the interested parties for a rapid decision on the actual
cooperation, assure the overall consensus of the European users and
facilities, and avoid duplications, Last but not least, the Round-Table
forum allows all interested parties – and not just a subset of users and
managers – to monitor the progress of each collaboration project, to be
informed of its results, and able to participate to their exploitation. The
project thus really becomes a trans-European resource.
Meeting to celebrate 10 years of European Synchrotron Radiation Research
LIST OF TALKS
Gerard Bricogne: Progress on the Phase Problem for the Determination of Structures
Miquel Coll: MAD Phasing of the PhoB Protein and the DNA Decamer d(CCGGACCGG)
Enric Chantler: Ultra Structural Changes in Capacitating Human Sperm Visualized in X-rays
Peter Cloetens: Hard X-ray Coherent Imaging
Paul Loubeyre: The Structure of Ice Under Very High Pressure
Paolo Scardi: Structure of Thin Film Sensors by Glancing X-ray Diffraction
Peter Laggner: Supramolecular Reactions and Phase Transformations: Real-time SWAX
Ronald Imbihl: Spectromicroscopy of Chemical Waves on Catalytic Surfaces
Maria-Carmen Asensio: Heterogeneous Catalysis and Adsorbate Structure Determination Using Photoelectron Diffraction
Robert Feidenhans: Structure of Metals on Semiconductor Surfaces
Enrique Garcia Michel: Origin of the Surface Phase Transition in SnGe(111) and Pb/Ge(111)
Wolfgang Felsch: Magnetic Dichroism at LURE DCI and SUPER-ACO: Probing Cerium in Highly Correlated Multilayer Structures
Giorgio Rossi: Time Resolved Surface Magnetometry in the Nanosecond Scale Using Synchrotron Radiation
Patrick Mc Nally: Synchrotron X-ray Topography Applied to the Monitoring of 0.25 Micron CMOS Integrated Circuit Fabrication
Franz Schaefers: Circular Polarization: Instrumentation Developments
Francisco J. Balta Calleja: Time Resolved X-ray Studies of Structure Development in Polymers
Francesco Sette: Inelastic X-ray Scattering to Study the Atom Collective Dynamics at High Frequency
Benedikt Jean: Medical Studies with IR-FELs
C.R. Pidgeon: Lifetime and Lifetime Design of Low-dimensional Semiconductors with Infrared picosecond FELs
André Peremans: Development of Surface SFG Spectroscopy with FELs and Ancillary Lasers
Maria Novella Piancastelli: Electron Decay Processes in Core-excited Molecules Studied Under a Resonant Auger Raman Condition
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As the field grows rapidly, the need for European-level access to
Synchrotrons and FEL increases, together with the importance of the RoundTable coordination. Protein crystallography is the most prominent factor of
this increase, but other important elements should be taken into account.
Coordination and access beyond the EC boundaries also constitute a
challenge. The problems of open access are in fact common to all fellow
scientists in the entire world. Many European users travel to the USA and to
the Far East for their experiments. Conversely, European facilities welcome
users from all over the planet.
The entire field of Synchrotron light and FEL may in fact be heading towards
a revolution, and the European strategy must be tuned accordingly. Besides
crystallography, the most probable and most interesting and revolutionary
elements are:
This suggests that the models of EC access support and Round-Table
coordination could be exported beyond the EU boundaries. The first
objective could be the integration of European facilities outside the EU:
Switzerland, Central Europe, Russia, and then also the USA and Japan.
•
The use of coherence, in particular for radiology. As we have seen,
new radiological techniques are made possible by the superior
quality of the new synchrotrons. If synchrotron radiology become a
routine diagnostic tool, both the development of new sources, and
their use, will radically change, and dramatically increase.
•
Industrial fabrication in the areas of microelectronics and
micromechanics. The first area is a “standby” technology, waiting
and ready for its window of use. International microelectronics
leaders like IBM and Sematech dominate this field, but Europe also
needs it for its own microelectronics production. Micromechanics is
a wide open field with Europe at the forefront. A significant level of
use for industrial microfabrication would once again revolutionise
the strategic scenario for synchrotron activities.
The Round-Table, a good idea conceived ten years ago by scientists and for
scientists, could thus become a model solution for crucial problems
affecting science all over the Earth. It certainly worked in Europe for more
than ten years, enhancing the use of human and material resources, and
facilitating many results in science and technology. Therefore, we should
make an effort to explain its simple and effective common-sense philosophy
to our colleagues in other countries and in other disciplines, with no
boundaries whatsoever.
Looking to the future
30
•
Environmental research. Synchrotron and FEL-based microscopy,
spectroscopy and spectromicroscopy are very powerful techniques
for the early detection of trace contamination. Tests in ecological
research have already produced excellent results. Thus, the future
use of Synchrotrons and FEL in environmental research and testing
is likely to significantly increase.
•
New sources. The quest for better sources is not over. Exciting new
ideas are under consideration and development. The Round-Table is
alert about these opportunities, and about the corresponding needs
for transnational access and cooperation. We can propose two
examples. First, the future commissioning of the Swiss Light Source
(SLS), which will surpass the coherence and brightness
performances of all present medium-energy synchrotrons. Second,
the use of SASE-based FEL for the emission of ultraviolet and X-ray
pulses with unprecedented peak brightness. We specifically note
the SASE tests at HASYLAB within the TESLA project.
A classic example
of European
transnational
cooperation in
the domain of
synchrotron
instrumentation:
the collaboration
of Max-Lab,
Bessy and Elettra
on measurements
of circular
polarization. The
figure shows a
beamline under
construction at
Elettra.
The new synchrotrons emit
light with laser-like coherence
in a portion of their spectrum.
The applications of coherent
X-rays are rapidly expanding.
The image shows a nice
example: the sharp diffraction
fringes produced by X-rays
illuminating a microscopic
object.
Figure courtesy of E. Bauer.
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ANNEX 1 ROUND-TABLE MEMBERSHIP
User Representatives:
Keith Wilson (EMBL.Hamburg and University of York)
Johann Turkenbourg (University of York)
José Martin-Gago (Instituto Ciencia de Materiales CSIC, Madrid)
Peter Laggner (Austrian Academy of Sciences)
Petra Rudolf (LISE, Namur)
Seppo Aksela (University of Oulu)
Member Facilities:
Sincrotrone Trieste SCpA (Elettra)
S. S. 14, km 163,5, Basovizza
I-34012 Trieste, Italy
Homepage: www.elettra.trieste.it
Foundation for Fundamental Research on Matter (FOM)
FELIX Free-Electron Laser
Institute for Plasma Physics “Rijnuizen”
Edisonbaan 14
NL-3430 BE Nieuwegein, The Netherlands
Homepage: http://www.rijnh.nl/departments/laser/felix/user/user.html
CLIO
LURE
B. P. 34
Centre Universitare Paris Sud – Bâtiment 209 D
F-91898 Cedex Orsay, France
Homepage: http://www.lure.u-psud.fr/clio/clio_eng.htm
Berliner Elektronenspeicherring-Gesellschaft
für Synchrotronstrahlung m.b.H. (BESSY)
Geb. 14.51, Albert-Einstein-Straße 15
D-12489 Berlin, Germany
Homepage: http://www.bessy.de/
MAX-Laboratory
Lund University
P. O. Box 118
Ole Römersvag 1
S-221 00 Lund, Sweden
Homepage: http://www.maxlab.lu.se/
Laboratoire pour l’utilisation du rayonnement
électromagnétique (LURE) – CNRS
B. P. 34
Centre Universitare Paris Sud – Bâtiment 209 D
F-91898 Cedex Orsay, France
Homepage: http://www.lure.u-psud.fr/
Institute for Storage Ring Facilities Aarhus (ISA)
University of Aarhus
Ny Munkengade, Bygn, 520
DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
Homepage: http://www.isa.au.dk/
Synchrotron Radiation Department, CLRC (SRS-Daresbury)
Keckwicjk Lane, Daresbury
WA4 4AD Warrington, UK
Homepage: http://srs.dl.ac.uk/index.htm
ANKA – Forschungzentrum Karlsruhe GmbH
Projectgruppe Forschung und Entwicklung mit Synchrotronstrahlung (FES)
P.O. Box 3640
D-76021 Karlsruhe, Germany
Homepage: http://www.fzk.de/anka/
Hamburger Synchrotronstrahlungslabor (HASYLAB)
DESY
Notkestrasse. 85
D-22603 Hamburg, Germany
Homepage: http://srs.dl.ac.uk/index.htm
Swiss Light Source (SLS)
Paul Scherrer Institute
CH-5232 Villigen PSI, Switzerland
Homepage: http://www1.psi.ch/www_sls_hn/
European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL)
Hamburg Outstation
Building 25A
Notkestrasse 85
D-22607 Hamburg, Germany
Homepage: http://www.embl-hamburg.de/
SRS Daresbury
MAX-lab
Hasylab
SLS
European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL)
Grenoble Outstation
EMBL Grenoble Outstation
c/o ILL, BP 156
F-38042 Grenoble Cedex 9, France
Homepage: http://www.embl-grenoble.fr/
ANKA
EMBL Grenoble
European Round-Table
for Synchrotron
Radiation
and Free-Electron
Lasers
Elettra
BESSY
ISA
CLIO
EMBL Hamburg
FELIX
LURE
31
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European Commission
Research infrastructures
Synchrotron Light and Free-Electron Lasers – Ten years of transnational research in Europe
by Professor G. Margaritondo
Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities
2000 — 31 pp. — 21 x 29.7 cm
ISBN 92-828-8506-2
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15
Over the last 10 years, the European Community research infrastructure programmes have
made a major contribution to the fields of synchrotron radiation and free-electron lasers.
Community support has been primarily allocated to scientists so that they could carry out
experiments at research infrastructures in a different European country.
OFFICE FOR OFFICIAL PUBLICATIONS
OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
L-2985 Luxembourg
,!7IJ2I2-iifagc!
CG-25-99-352-EN-C
One in the series of brochures to highlight the contribution made by the Community research
infrastructure programmes, this publication is the outcome of a meeting held in May 1999 to
celebrate the 10th anniversary of the creation of the European Round-Table on Synchrotron
Radiation and Free-Electron Lasers. It contains a description, based on the presentations
given at the meeting, of the past, present and probable future of X-rays and their scientific
uses. This publication will be of interest to both those in the field and those who are interested
in becoming involved in transnational research.