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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
29 October 2015

X-ray research in the UFO

Matter and Material Large Research Facilities Research Using Synchrotron Light

At first glance, the Swiss Light Source SLS stands out as a striking building. The inside reveals a setting of cutting-edge research. A journey through a world where electrons race a slalom course and X-rays help decode proteins.

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This is a text from the PSI media archive. The contents may be out-of-date.
26 October 2015

Put in perspective

Media Releases Large Research Facilities Matter and Material Materials Research SwissFEL

Researchers from the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI have succeeded in using commercially available camera technology to visualise terahertz light. In doing so, they are enabling a low-cost alternative to the procedure available to date, whilst simultaneously increasing the comparative image resolution by a factor of 25. The special properties of terahertz light make it potentially advantageous for many applications. At PSI, it will be used for the experiments on the X-ray free-electron laser SwissFEL.

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This is a text from the PSI media archive. The contents may be out-of-date.
30 September 2015
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Perfect beamlines go unnoticed

SwissFEL Large Research Facilities

Interview with Luc PattheyLuc Patthey is in charge of designing and implementing the beamlines for the X-ray free-electron laser SwissFEL. In this Interview, he explains the requirements the beamlines need to meet for the X-ray light pulses generated by SwissFEL to reach the experiments in an optimal form and what role collaborations play in the development of beamlines.

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This is a text from the PSI media archive. The contents may be out-of-date.
26 May 2015
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Together, not alone

Research Using Synchrotron Light Large Research Facilities SwissFEL Human Health

Decoding biomolecules at SwissFEL and SLSProteins are a coveted but stubborn research object. A method developed for x-ray free-electron lasers and PSI’s future SwissFEL should now help researchers to make good headway in this field. It involves x-raying many small, identical protein samples consecutively at short intervals, thereby avoiding the main problem that protein research has faced thus far: producing samples in a sufficient size.

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This is a text from the PSI media archive. The contents may be out-of-date.
22 May 2015

First undulators reach the SwissFEL building

SwissFEL Large Research Facilities

The first undulator frames have arrived at the SwissFEL building. They will take around six months to assemble, after which the finished undulators will be taken to the SwissFEL accelerator tunnel for installation.

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This is a text from the PSI media archive. The contents may be out-of-date.
21 May 2015
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From inside an eggshell

Research Using Synchrotron Light Large Research Facilities

Tiny cavities inside eggshells supply the materials that stimulate and control the shell’s growth. Using a novel imaging technique, researchers from the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), ETH Zurich and the Dutch FOM Institute AMOLF have succeeded in depicting these voids in 3D for the first time. In doing so, they lift an old limitation of tomographic images and hope that one day medicine will also benefit from their method.

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This is a text from the PSI media archive. The contents may be out-of-date.
13 May 2015
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Research geared towards the future

Research Using Synchrotron Light Large Research Facilities Materials Research Micro- and Nanotechnology SwissFEL

Interview with Gabriel AeppliGabriel Aeppli has been head of synchrotron radiation and nanotechnology research at PSI since 2014. Previously, the Swiss-born scientist set up a leading research centre for nanotechnology in London. In this interview, Aeppli explains how the research approaches of the future can be implemented at PSI's large research facilities and talks about his view of Switzerland.

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24 March 2015
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Split x-ray flash shows rapid processes

Large Research Facilities SwissFEL Micro- and Nanotechnology

SwissFEL, PSI’s x-ray laser, is to render the individual steps of very rapid processes visible. A new method will facilitate especially precise experiments: the individual x-ray flashes are split into several parts that arrive at the object under examination one by one. The principle of the method harks back to the ideas of the earliest high-speed photography.

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This is a text from the PSI media archive. The contents may be out-of-date.
17 February 2015
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Prepared for the SwissFEL

SwissFEL Large Research Facilities

For many years, PSI researchers have been testing experimental methods that will provide insights into novel materials for electronic devices. Using a special trick to make the Swiss Light Source (SLS) at PSI generate light with similar properties to that of PSI’s x-ray laser SwissFEL, the researchers were able to demonstrate that the experiments planned for SwissFEL are possible and they are now building an experimental station at SwissFEL.

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

SwissFEL ready for assembly

SwissFEL Large Research Facilities

Researchers from PSI have spent the last four years developing key technologies for the X-ray laser SwissFEL and subjecting them to the acid test in the injector test facility. Now that the development programme has drawn to a close, the installation of the new large research facility is due to get underway in early 2015.

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This is a text from the PSI media archive. The contents may be out-of-date.
14 October 2014
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A large research facilities disappears in the woods

SwissFEL Large Research Facilities

The building of the new PSI large research facility SwissFEL in Würenlingen forest could only enjoy the sunshine for a brief spell: it is now disappearing under a mound of earth. This superstructure is one of the measures taken to integrate the facility as harmoniously as possible into the natural environment.

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This is a text from the PSI media archive. The contents may be out-of-date.
9 October 2014
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Foundation Stone Ceremony Marks Scientific Importance of ESS

Large Research Facilities Research Using Neutrons

Today, several hundred members of the European scientific community gathered at the European Spallation Source (ESS) construction site in Lund, Sweden, for the ESS Foundation Stone Ceremony. The event was held to ‘lay the foundation’ both for the new facility, which has recently begun construction, and for a new generation of science in Europe.

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

Giants who control miniscule particles

Large Research Facilities

Magnets are the unsung heroes in particle accelerators because they keep protons or electrons on track. But such magnets have very little in common with the small ones on the domestic fridge door. Quite a few of the magnets at PSI are heavier and bulkier than the fridge itself, yet despite this they are also masterpieces of precision and control.

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This is a text from the PSI media archive. The contents may be out-of-date.
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 Matter and Material 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 Matter and Material 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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