Accelerator

The Swiss Light Source (SLS), operational since 2001, has remained one of the leading examples of third-generation storage-ring technology for two decades. However, the increasing scope and impact of the uses of synchrotron light sources in almost all areas of the natural and engineering sciences, improvements in source and instrument technology generally, and the advent of diffraction-limited storage-rings (DLSRs) in particular, mean that the SLS must undergo a comprehensive upgrade to remain competitive and perform cutting-edge science. 

SLS 2.0 will provide a dramatic increase in brightness by replacing the current magnet lattice of the storage ring by a new multi-bend achromat (MBA) magnet structure. This, combined with advanced hardware and instrumentation, will enhance the performance of all techniques currently practiced at the SLS by up to three to four orders of magnitude in some cases, while heralding, on the one hand, new and game-changing sources and, on the other, new and innovative techniques.

The upgrade focuses on the transformation of the storage ring lattice to MBA technology and the upgrade of the beamlines and end-stations to take full advantage of the increased brightness of the machine.

The accelerator upgrade will incorporate new technologies in the SLS, such as superconducting magnets, which will extend the X-ray spectra to higher energies. In addition, permanent magnet material will be used for many of the ambient temperature magnets, resulting in an important reduction in power consumption. A crucial feature for the MBA design is a significant reduction in the vacuum chamber cross-section, achieved thanks to the use of a non-evaporable getter coating on the chamber surface. One truly original feature of the new lattice is the use of “reverse-bend” magnets, which play an important role in the brightness increase.

The upgrades of the accelerator and the beamlines and PSI’s leadership in development of complementary technology (e.g. insertion-device design, x-ray detectors, x-ray optics) will yield unique research opportunities especially in imaging, diffraction, and spectroscopy, areas in which SLS presently is a leading player.