SLS 2.0
The upgrade of the Swiss Light Source SLS
The Swiss Light Source SLS has been in operation since 2001. Now this large research facility, unique in Switzerland, has been upgraded so that it remains at the cutting edge of science, technology, engineering, and data processing. With the modernisation, researchers can carry out novel experiments and achieve even greater precision in their investigations. Funding for the SLS 2.0 upgrade was provided within the framework of the ERI Dispatch 2021-2024. The new SLS was inaugurated on 21 August 2025.
News
Big heart, acute senses key to explosive radiation of early fishes
X-rays of a 400-million-year-old fossil illuminate a key moment in our deep evolutionary past.
A bright light for Switzerland
The new Swiss Light Source is inaugurated
SLS 2.0: How to start up a particle accelerator
The electrons are back: after its upgrade, the Swiss Light Source SLS is starting up again, step by step.
The Cables of the SLS
Building services, magnets, IT – many different parties are involved in the SLS upgrade. What connects them all is several hundred kilometres of cables.
Video Series
SLS 2.0 on Instagram
At the Swiss Light Source SLS, X-ray tomographic microscopy of a 400-million-year-old fossilised fish 🐟, no bigger than a fingernail, has shed light on our own evolutionary past.
Researchers from…
Another door opens, another beam shines! 🚪🔦 ✨ With the upgraded SLS now officially inaugurated and beamlines reopening for experiments, even more groups are welcoming their first X-ray light. 🚀💡
We…
We’ve cut the ribbon! 🎉The Swiss Light Source SLS is officially inaugurated!
Yesterday, Thursday 21 August, PSI welcomed around 150 guests from politics, business and science to celebrate the…
📅 -1 day to the inauguration of the upgrade of the SLS
Up to 1000x greater brilliance – the X-ray light from SLS is brighter, more focused, and better collimated than ever before. This leap in…
📅 -2 days to the inauguration of the upgrade of the SLS
40x lower electron emittance — that’s the result of redesigning the SLS storage ring with more, smaller magnets and innovative undulators.
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📅 -3 days to the inauguration of the upgrade of the SLS
🌞 33% less electricity consumption — thanks to SLS 2.0!
The upgrade doesn’t just bring an enormous increased performance — it also brings…
📅 -4 days to the inauguration of the upgrade of the SLS
🧲 1,000+ high-precision magnet systems for a brighter beam!
The upgraded Swiss Light Source features a new, innovative magnet…
📅 -5 days to the inauguration of the upgrade of the SLS
500 vacuum chambers - that’s what it takes to keep electrons circulating in the upgraded 288-meter-long Swiss Light Source ring.
Each…
📅 -6 days to the inauguration of the upgrade of the SLS
4,000 tonnes of concrete — that’s what had to be removed to access the SLS storage ring for the SLS 2.0 upgrade.
This major modernization…
A huge THANK YOU to @sustainablelandscape for their generous sponsorship of our Iowa Arts Festival and Iowa City Jazz Festival! Their beautiful plant and landscape designs truly transformed the…
Knock knock knockin’ on beamlines’ doors… 👊🚪🎸
After the ‘dark time’ of the SLS 2.0 upgrade, the light is coming back! On April 10th, Debye and PXIII welcomed their first X-ray beam.
Who else has…
🚨 First light for science at SLS 2.0!
On April 10th, two of the first beamlines — Debye and PXIII — opened their shutters and received their first X-ray light for science.
🔬 Debye will drive…
It’s officially the end of "dark time" at the #SwissLightSource #SLS. This final quarterly video features the placement of the final stone 🧱 (actually concrete block!) in the storage ring marking the…
💡SLS 2.0: The electrons are circling through the new storage ring! 💡
It is a milestone for the most striking large research facility at PSI, the circular #SwissLightSource #SLS: After 15 months of…
🎉 It’s “Bright Time” at the #SwissLightSource #SLS!
After months of hard work, and with electrons finally back at SLS, we took a moment to celebrate the efforts, expertise, and dedication of the…
23 January 2025 - a day to remember: The electrons are back at the #SwissLightSource #SLS! 💫
With this, SLS is well on track to resume operation in summer 2025. Congratulations to the entire #SLS 2…
As the SLS 2.0 upgrade progresses, scientist Nicola Casati shares his excitement about faster measurements of technologically relevant materials with industrial partners.
At the Materials Sciences…
🔌 504 kilometres of cables for the science of the future 🔬
Emanuel Hüsler’s team at PSI completed a mammoth task as part of the SLS 2.0 upgrade of the Swiss Light Source. They installed 30,000…
After 22 years of brilliant science, at 8am on the 30th of September 2023, the SLS went into temporary shutdown.🛑 As the SLS 2.0 upgrade progresses, beamline scientist Grigory Smolentsev tells us how…
📽 Video update on SLS 2.0 - The installation of the last arc of the #SwissLightSource #SLS was marked by 👏 applause, celebrating this significant milestone of the SLS 2.0 modernization project!
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The Installation of six Monochromators and associated Cryocoolers for the SLS2.0 project at @paul.scherrer.institut has been completed.
Thanks are due not only to the XDS Oxford Technicians and…
As the SLS 2.0 upgrade progresses, beamline scientist Federica Marone tells us what this means for X-ray tomography and why she can’t wait for the new light.
At the TOMCAT beamline, X-ray…
With the SLS 2.0 upgrade at PSI, experiments at the #SwissLightSource #SLS will achieve up to 1,000x the previous performance level 📈, resulting in a substantial increase in data production 💾.
PSI…
As the SLS 2.0 upgrade progresses, Thorsten Schmitt shares his excitement about deeper investigations into quantum materials.
With the increased brightness of SLS 2.0, his team will be able to…
✨ …and just like that - the last arc is in the tunnel of the Swiss Light Source SLS! ✨
The SLS is currently undergoing a major modernisation programme that will significantly increase the density…
