Swiss Light Source - SLS
COVID-19: SLS is in full 24/7 user operation
The SLS is in full 24/7 user operation with safety measures against COVID-19 infections in place. Currently international business travel is still restricted and thus not all users can reach Switzerland. Please see below or on the user office pages further information entitled 'Important information for SLS and SwissFEL users'.
The Swiss Light Source (SLS) at the Paul Scherrer Institut is a third-generation synchrotron light source. With an energy of 2.4 GeV, it provides photon beams of high brightness for research in materials science, biology and chemistry.
SLS is part of the Photon Science Division. The facility has world-leading instruments at its beamlines for unraveling the structure of proteins, for in-depth 3D imaging of matter, and for investigating how the electrons of atoms and molecules keep matter together and render it properties such as magnetism and electron conduction at zero resistance (‘superconductivity’).
- The beamlines for protein structure determination are intensively used by pharmaceutical companies in Switzerland and abroad. SLS is also leading in the development of pixelated X-ray detectors. The company DECTRIS has been spun off from these activities.
- In something as complex as a human being structures and processes occur on all length scales from macroscopic down to atomic dimensions. The SLS host a variety of techniques to address problems on different length scales.
- Materials with new, functional properties are the scope of intense research, since they offer fascinating insights into fundamental interactions and hold promise for advanced technologies which is highly needed. The SLS host world-leading capability in advanced materials spectroscopy ranging from photoemission spectroscopy, over spectromicroscopy to different X-ray absorption, scattering and diffraction techniques.
- A further focus is to provide advanced micro- and nanofabrication technologies to academic and industrial users, in particular in the area of polymer nanotechnology.
Current operation status
Latest Scientific Highlights and News
Glycation of collagen: Quantifying rates
Collagen is abundant in the connective tissue of human beings, e.g. in tendons, ligament and cornea. Glycation of collagen distorts its structure, renders the extracellular matrix stiff and brittle and at the same time lowers the degradation susceptibility thereby preventing renewal. Based on models and with parameters determined from experimental data, we describe the glycation of type 1 collagen in bovine pericardium derived bio-tissues upon incubation in glucose and ribose. We hope that this contributes to a better quantitative understanding of the effects of diabetes on collagen.
New active agent against parasites
PSI researchers identify potential active agent against several unicellular parasites – including the pathogens that cause malaria and toxoplasmosis.
3D view: Swiss Light Source SLS
Linear accelerator, booster ring, storage ring: our 3D graphic of the Swiss Light Source shows the inside of the facility and how it serves research.
