I-TOMCAT: TOmographic Microscopy and Coherent rAdiology experimenTs

The I-TOMCAT beamline at the Swiss Light Source is a cutting-edge facility operated by the  X-ray Tomography Group at PSI. It is designed to exploit the unique properties of synchrotron radiation for fast, non-destructive, and high-resolution 3D imaging across a wide range of scientific disciplines. I-TOMCAT is powered by a U15 undulator (to be upgrade to a HTSU10 in 2029) and supports both absorption-based and phase-contrast imaging, with isotropic voxel sizes ranging from 240 nm up to 0.65 um and energy range of 8 to 50 keV (monochromatic). I-TOMCAT will feature three state-of-the-art endstations, dedicated to high-resolution (ES1-TXM), high-throughput (ES2), and dynamic tomographic imaging (ES3). Currently, only ES2 is open for users. In 2027, ES1-TXM (with a resolution expected of ~100nm) and ES3 will start commissioning and friendly user operations.

Research Topics:

Life sciences, for studying biological tissues, organs, and plant structures
Materials science, for analyzing microstructures, defects, and mechanical behavior
Geosciences, for investigating porosity, mineralogy, and fluid transport in rocks and soils
Engineering and manufacturing, for quality control, additive manufacturing, and failure analysis
Cultural heritage and paleontology, for imaging fossils, artifacts, and historical materials
Energy research, for exploring degradation, microstructure evolution, and transport phenomena in batteries, fuel cells, and other energy materials
Technical NameX02SA
SourceU15 —> HTSU-10
Straight Section2S
FacilitySLS