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Large Research Facilities

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Sometimes, one needs unusually large pieces of equipment to look at the smallest of objects – because only these large machines or facilities can generate the probes that are needed to examine matter in such a way that the information being sought can be obtained. PSI maintains a number of such facilities, making them available as a service for other institutions, but also using them for its own research. These facilities are unique within Switzerland, and PSI is the only location in the world for some of the facilities

Read more at: Large Research Facilities

Further information

  • The Swiss X-ray free-electron laser SwissFEL
  • The Swiss Light Source SLS
  • The SINQ neutron source
  • The SμS muon source
  • The Swiss research infrastructure for particle physics CHRISP
  • The PSI proton accelerator
23 September 2014

A reliable type from the 1980s

Large Research Facilities

The source of the proton beam at PSI is a retro-style Cockcroft-Walton linear accelerator. Since 1984 it has been the first acceleration stage for protons which are taken up to around 80 percent of the speed of light by two further ring accelerators. This has resulted in the generation of a significant proton beam over decades, and which has even held the world record as the highest performing beam since 1994 thanks to ongoing retrofitting.

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This is a text from the PSI media archive. The contents may be out-of-date.
4 September 2014
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New material generated with light

Media Releases Research Using Synchrotron Light Large Research Facilities Materials Research Future Technologies SwissFEL

PSI researchers garner experience for SwissFEL experimentsAided by short laser flashes, researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute have managed to temporarily change a material’s properties to such a degree that they have à to a certain extent àcreated a new material. This was done using the x-ray laser LCLS in California. Once the PSI x-ray laser SwissFEL is up and running, experiments of this kind will also be possible at PSI.

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This is a text from the PSI media archive. The contents may be out-of-date.
25 June 2014
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Tag der offenen SwissFEL-Baustelle

SwissFEL Large Research Facilities

Vergangenen Sonntag luden das Paul Scherrer Institut PSI und die Arbeitsgemeinschaft EquiFEL Suisse die Einwohnerinnen und Einwohner der Umgebung zum Tag der offenen SwissFEL-Baustelle ein. Rund 600 Interessierte informierten sich an mehreren Stationen über den aktuellen Bau- und Projektstand.This news release is only available in German.

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This is a text from the PSI media archive. The contents may be out-of-date.
26 May 2014

New insight into photosynthesis

Media Releases Biology Research Using Neutrons Large Research Facilities

The way that algae and plants respond to light has been reinterpreted based on results from recent experiments. Under particular lighting conditions during photosynthesis, the well-ordered stacking and alignment of light-sensitive membranes in the algae are disrupted. There is no significant movement of the membrane embedded light harvesting proteins, which rather become largely inactive. These new findings challenge widely accepted views of how algae respond to light where the light harvesting proteins were thought to move around the membranes.

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This is a text from the PSI media archive. The contents may be out-of-date.
21 May 2014
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Big building on a millimetre scale

SwissFEL Large Research Facilities

For the electrons to reach the necessary energy level, their path in the linear accelerator needs to be absolutely straight. Even the slightest bend means a loss of energy, which the comparatively short SwissFEL linear accelerator cannot afford. Consequently, even the earth’s curvature needs to be balanced out while constructing the building, which not only requires state-of-the-art measurement technology, but also continuous monitoring.

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This is a text from the PSI media archive. The contents may be out-of-date.
6 April 2014
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Quantum melting

Media Releases Research Using Neutrons Large Research Facilities

Changes to the aggregate state triggered by quantum effects à in physically correct terms, quantum phase transitions à play a role in many astonishing phenomena in solids, such as high-temperature superconductivity. Researchers from Switzerland, Great Britain, France and China have now specifically altered the magnetic structure of the material TlCuCl3 by exposing it to external pressure and varying this pressure. With the aid of neutrons, they were able to observe what happens during a quantum phase transition, where the magnetic structure melts quantum-physically.

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This is a text from the PSI media archive. The contents may be out-of-date.
6 March 2014

Observed live with x-ray laser: electricity controls magnetism

Media Releases Large Research Facilities Research Using Synchrotron Light Materials Research Future Technologies SwissFEL

Researchers from ETH Zurich and the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI demonstrate how the magnetic structure can be altered quickly in novel materials. The effect could be used in efficient hard drives of the future.

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This is a text from the PSI media archive. The contents may be out-of-date.
24 February 2014
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The proton accelerator at the Paul Scherrer Institute: forty years of top-flight research

Media Releases Large Research Facilities Research Using Neutrons Particle physics Research with muons Fundamentals of Nature

Materials research, particle physics, molecular biology, archaeology à for the last forty years, the Paul Scherrer Institute’s large-scale proton accelerator has made top-flight research possible in a number of different fields.

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This is a text from the PSI media archive. The contents may be out-of-date.
14 February 2014
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The art of tailor-made engineering

Large Research Facilities SwissFEL

Preventing SwissFEL electrons from going astrayCost-effective and with a minimal error rate àPSI-engineers from the power electronics section have set ambitious goals for the SwissFEL magnet power supplies.

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This is a text from the PSI media archive. The contents may be out-of-date.
28 January 2014
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High-tech right up to the roof

SwissFEL Large Research Facilities

The construction work in the woods is well underway: the building for SwissFEL, the Paul Scherrer Institute’s new large research facility, is due for completion by the end of 2014. The demands on the building are high: It needs to ensure that the sensitive equipment can run smoothly.

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This is a text from the PSI media archive. The contents may be out-of-date.
8 November 2013
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The SwissFEL facility: laser light from avalanche-like amplification

Large Research Facilities SwissFEL

SwissFEL will create X-ray light with laser-like characteristics. The strong amplification of the light needed is produced by a process known as micro-bunching à electron packets break up in the undulator into thin layers which emit light in phase. At the same time, another process called seeding is being studied, in which one will be able to establish the properties of the light even more precisely.

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This is a text from the PSI media archive. The contents may be out-of-date.
15 August 2013
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The SwissFEL facility: the undulator section – where the light is produced

Large Research Facilities SwissFEL

X-ray light is produced in SwissFEL when electrons accelerated in its linear accelerator are forced to follow a wavy path. This takes place within the undulators à regular arrangements of magnets that bend the electron beam. The whole undulator section will be 60 metres long.

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This is a text from the PSI media archive. The contents may be out-of-date.
11 August 2013
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Magnetisation controlled at picosecond intervals

Media Releases Future Technologies Materials Research Large Research Facilities SwissFEL

A terahertz laser developed at the Paul Scherrer Institute makes it possible to control a material’s magnetisation precisely at a timescale of picoseconds. In their experiment, the researchers shone extremely short light pulses from the laser onto a magnetic material. The light pulse’s magnetic field was able to deflect the magnetic moments from their idle state in such a way that they exactly followed the change of the laser’s magnetic field with only a minor delay. The terahertz laser used in the experiment is one of the strongest of its kind in the world.

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This is a text from the PSI media archive. The contents may be out-of-date.
31 July 2013

The SwissFEL facility: the linear accelerator

Large Research Facilities SwissFEL

In the linear accelerator, the electron beam receives the kinetic energy it needs in order to generate X-ray light. The linear accelerator is, in total, more than 300 metres long and at its heart there are 11,752 specially shaped copper discs in which the accelerating field is created.

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This is a text from the PSI media archive. The contents may be out-of-date.
26 July 2013

The SwissFEL facility: the electron source

Large Research Facilities SwissFEL

The electron beam for SwissFEL will be generated in an electron source. The demands of this component are very high: in order for the SwissFEL to be operated successfully, the electron beam must be of the highest quality from the very beginning.

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This is a text from the PSI media archive. The contents may be out-of-date.
18 July 2013

First SwissFEL accelerator structure completed

SwissFEL Large Research Facilities

At the PSI, the first accelerator structure has been completed for the linear accelerator of SwissFEL. A total of 104 of these structures are needed to accelerate the electrons to the required energy to produce the X-ray pulses in SwissFEL. The component manufactured using high-precision technology is currently undergoing high-performance testing.

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This is a text from the PSI media archive. The contents may be out-of-date.
11 July 2013
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Knowledge for tomorrow from "hot cells"

Energy and Climate Research Using Neutrons Nuclear Power Plant Safety Large Research Facilities

The manipulation and examination of irradiated and therefore radioactive objects, be they from nuclear power stations or research facilities, requires strict safety measures. Tests may only be conducted in so-called “hot cells”, where the radioactivity is hermetically enclosed and shielded behind concrete and lead walls up to 1 metre thick. In the hot cells of the PSI hot lab, the burnt-off fuel rods from the Swiss nuclear power stations are studied from a materials science perspective. The insights gained help nuclear power station operators to optimise the efficiency and safety of their plants. Besides this service, the hot lab is involved in several international research projects.

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This is a text from the PSI media archive. The contents may be out-of-date.
3 July 2013

Laying of the corner stone for the new large research facility SwissFEL

Media Releases Large Research Facilities SwissFEL

At the ceremony on 3 July 2013, not only did the PSI lay the corner stone for the new large research facility SwissFEL, but it also paved the way for the continuation of twenty-five years of successful research at the institute.

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This is a text from the PSI media archive. The contents may be out-of-date.
17 May 2013
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Experiments in millionths of a second

Future Technologies Large Research Facilities Research with muons

Muons à unstable elementary particles à provide scientists with important insights into the structure of matter. They provide information about processes in modern materials, about the properties of elementary particles and the nature of our physical world. Many muon experiments are only possible at the Paul Scherrer Institute because of the unique intense muon beams available here.

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This is a text from the PSI media archive. The contents may be out-of-date.
7 May 2013
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The idea-collector

SwissFEL Large Research Facilities

The X-ray laser SwissFEL will provide researchers with novel experimental opportunities for gaining insights into a large variety of materials and processes. But, how do we identify which scientists will benefit most from the facility and in what way the facility should be configured to best meet their needs? Bruce Patterson, the SwissFEL’s idea-collector, explains how this search is done.

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This is a text from the PSI media archive. The contents may be out-of-date.
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5232 — The magazine of the Paul Scherrer Institute

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