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Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - CALIPSOplus (Convenient Access to Light Sources Open to Innovation, Science and to the World)

Teaser

Summary

Synchrotrons and free-electron lasers (FELs) are large research infrastructures (RIs) operated by national stakeholders, but owing to the huge construction and operation costs, increasingly also by international consortia. For many areas of cutting-edge research and technology access to these facilities is vital and cannot be replaced by the use of smaller and less-expensive laboratory-scale radiation sources, as the key parameters of these latter are orders of magnitude below those offered by the accelerator-based light sources. A strength of Europe is the unique density of these research infrastructures, creating an excellent environment for disruptive research and ground-breaking technological developments. However, the substantial investments required to build these facilities and the continuously high operation costs resulted in their unequal distribution across Europe, with a high concentration in Western Europe which is rapidly fading away towards the newer member states. Realization of ERA requires not only opening these facilities for any researcher and industry user in Europe, which is ongoing since the times of 6th EU framework program for research, but removing any barriers for access and realizing equal extend of use in all regions of Europe. At present, the potential of accelerator-based light sources is still largely underexploited
â€¢ by researchers from EU-13 states
â€¢ by scientists from research fields in which research infrastructures traditionally have never been used, and
â€¢ by industry and in particular SMEs.
The aim of CALIPSOplus is to leverage the potential that accelerator-based light sources represent for Europe. To this end, CALIPSOplus brings together all major synchrotrons and FELs in Europe, reaching out also to neighboring countries by including the TARLA FEL in Turkey and the Synchrotron Facility in the Middle East, SESAME, in Jordan, to offer trans-national access to their facilities free-of-charge and even covering the travel expenses of the users. The provision of trans-national access, which is a major mission of CALIPSOplus, is complemented by strong activities to create a most favorable user environment at the facilities on one hand, and by awareness- raising campaigns and support and training measures, tailor-made to the specific target groups, on the other hand. In addition, recent challenges facing Europe such as the management of the exponentially increasing amount of data, boosting innovation to sustain economic competitiveness of Europe and investigating routes to ensure sustainability of the achievements resulting of European-funded projects, are tackled in the framework of CALIPSOplus

Work performed

Within the first 18 months of the project of four years, more than 58 000 hours of access have been provided, more than 80% of the total promised access. A substantial step towards harmonization of the access procedure to the facilities has been reached by identifying a set of common fields which the facilities are about to implement in their individual application forms. Major universities and research institutions in the newer EU member states have pro-actively been contacted, offering a visit including a lecture on accelerator-based light sources, their potential and the portfolio of offers for training and support of unexperienced users in the framework of CALIPSOplus, as well as individual consultations. The feedback was overwhelming. As many as 13 visits have taken place up to now. A twinning program has been set up, enabling unexperienced new users to participate in a beam time of an experienced user group. Fifteen user groups volunteered to act as host in this program, 13 applications for participating as a guest have been received following the consultations, and five joint beam times have already taken place. The first successful proposal by a participant in the twinning program has submitted to the synchrotron BESSY 2 in Berlin. Focusing on industry use and more specifically on users from SMEs, a specific access route to light sources has been set up tailor-made to the needs of SMEs, TamaTA. In parallel, use of analytical facilities by industry has aggressively been promoted by participation in, organization and co-funding of events with substantial industry participation. To increase the critical mass and to make best use of the available resources, CALIPSOplus has teamed up for this purpose with other networks of research infrastructures striving for outreach to industry. A major achievement of this cooperation has been the development of the European Analytical Research Infrastructures Village (EARIV) as visibility and marketing tool, with own branding, roll-ups, a brochures and its own website. As a result, 12 successful applications for TamaTA have been received from SME and five related beam times have already taken place.
Work has started on pushing metrology of surface roughness of the one-meter large mirrors urgently needed by synchrotrons and X-ray FELs to the limits set by nature. The team also includes representatives of European mirror suppliers who at present are not able to compete with their Asian competitors due to the lack of sufficiently precise measurement procedures. To cope with the ever increasing amounts of data resulting from the experiments at research infrastructures offering constantly refined detectors at the technological cutting edge, a blueprint for a demonstrator of a software tool for remote data analysis has been drafted and work on implementing the software tool as well as a corresponding platform is going on.

Final results

Covering the cost for travel and accommodation related to an experimental campaign has always been a threat for many research teams not only from European countries with a weaker economy. To counteract this situation, a concept for a joint European travel office for trips related to experiments at research infrastructures to sustain the traditional trans-national access program will be developed in the framework of CALIPSOplus. Along with the success of the roadshows in EU13 countries and the twinning program, a strong impact on science and economic divide in Europe can be expected.
Through the actions targeting industry, light sources are strengthening their position within regional innovation eco-systems, building â€œbusiness within walking distanceâ€ with local companies, both large and small. Mediated by the TamaTA program, the innovation-based economy makes use of the skill and instruments available at the European light sources.
A major impact of CALIPSOplus and the previous work of earlier EU projects of the community is the launch of the LEAPS initiative, the League of European Accelerator-based Photon Sources in Europe, which comprises almost all members of the CALIPSOplus consortium, represented by their directors. The vision of LEAPS is to establish a photon science roadmap for Europe and strongly collaborate on technological developments. Most of the work packages of CALIPSOplus are mirrored by working groups, and results of CALIPSOplus serve as prototype for further developments in LEAPS. Prominent examples are the metrology on ultra-high precision mirrors which will directly be turned into innovation, or the prototype for a software tool for remote data analysis, which will be taken up by a LEAPS working group dealing with software and data, strongly involved in the structuring of the European Open Science Cloud.