LABSYNC

Laboratory compact light sources

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'The need for advanced light sources is well documented by the creation of new facilities such as SOLEIL, DIAMOND, MAX IV and the upgrades of older facilities. The applications of light sources encompass all aspects of sciences spanning the fields of physics, chemistry, biology, material science, electronics and medicine. An option to provide “more light” to this community is to develop small laboratory sources beyond the standard and rotating anodes. Recently, several “small scale synchrotron” sources were proposed, whereby the most advanced system is the Mirrorcle© developed by Prof. Yamada (Japan) with three functioning systems. In this project, we will design a complete small facility around the Mirrorcle© source. The Mirrorcle© is based on two RF klystron driven microtrons to accelerate the electrons first and second to obtain a electron storage ring with constant energy (6 MeV or 20 MeV) and high current (3A). The relativistic electrons produce intense far infrared radiation (FIR) and when targets are inserted in the electron path intense soft and hard X-rays can be produced from 90 eV up to the electron energy. The first goal of this project is to complete the characterization of the full radiation spectrum generated by the Mirrorcle© . This includes parameters such as the brilliance, the beam divergence, polarization and monochromacity. The second goal is to design a specific Mirrorcle© ring with four output ports, namely a FIR port, a soft X-rays port, a hard X-rays port and one port where the full spectrum is available. This includes designing the required targets as well as internal mirrors configurations. The third goal is to design specific beam-lines for these four ports that take into account the source. Finally, two specific user stations will be designed that make use of the unique abilities offered by such a small scale source, namely a multi-diagnostic in-situ, real-time nano-material synthesis system and a medical imaging and therapy station.

In the first two years if the project the focus was indeed on using the Mirrorcle as the source for photons. In the third year of the project that has changes and the activities related to the Mirrorcle have stopped. They have been replaced by activities with liquid metal jet sources (for hard x-rays) and with laser plasma sources (for soft x-rays). However the general design goals have remained the same throughout the project.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

Science needs high-quality light sources to conduct advanced experiments. A recent project has worked on developing laboratories with more accessible facilities for medical X-ray imaging and radiation therapy applications.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

The field of life sciences requires sophisticated tools such as high-quality light sources that operate in the infrared, soft X-ray and hard X-ray wavelengths. Although Europe possesses cutting-edge synchrotron and free electron laser facilities, access is booked in advance and remains restricted for non-standard experiments. The EU-funded project 'Laboratory compact light sources' (LABSYNC) aimed to facilitate high-quality tuneable light to perform advanced experiments on a local laboratory scale.

The project worked on building laboratories using existing Mirrorcle technology, based on the interaction between matter and electrons to produce quality electron beams. It demonstrated that the Mirrorcle prototype could fill the gap between large-scale equipment and existing laboratory sources, as it is tuneable within a wide range of frequencies.

Under a partnership between European and Japanese researchers, LABSYNC developed a plan to upgrade the functionality of the Mirrorcle technology to meet the needs of scientists. It explored medical X-ray imaging, including phase contrast and parametric radiation, as well as radiation therapy applications. Possibilities for researching materials and conducting in situ thin film characterisation studies were also examined.

After thoroughly characterising Mirrorcle devices, the project team worked on optimising infrared, soft X-ray and hard X-ray specifications. It designed new features that could be integrated into the Mirrorcle system, such as a far-infrared beam line, a hard X-ray monochromatic beam line and another for medical imaging. After making significant progress in this area, the project consortium shifted focus to other types of light sources.

In the latter part of its mandate, LABSYNC focused on investigating the potential of low-energy, X-ray photon therapy using photoemission and nanoparticles. It also studied the implementation of a liquid-metal-jet anode X-ray tube in extreme conditions such as high magnetic fields.

This complex multifaceted research will go a long way in providing a viable laboratory environment with advanced light sources that could provide state of the art multi-diagnostics in-situ, medical imaging and therapy.