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News Release Communique FOR RELEASE
Sept. 10, 2001
U of S Awards $3.4-M Synchrotron Amplifier Contract to Multinational FirmThe University of Saskatchewan has awarded a $3.4-million contract to Thales Radio Broadcast Inc. of Virginia to design and supply a radio frequency (RF) amplifier system for the Canadian Light Source (CLS) synchrotron project now under construction on campus. The RF amplifier will be used to power the superconducting acceleration module for the CLS storage ring (a large vacuum tube for electron circulation). The work is to be completed by the end of September. The contract was recently approved by the U of S board of governors. A request for proposals was sent out to 22 vendors around the world including Thomcast Radio Systems Inc. which has since become Thales Radio Broadcast Inc. Thales is the world's leading supplier of RF systems for the scientific market. The U of S-owned CLS is a national facility that will provide a high-intensity source of infrared, visible, ultraviolet and X-ray radiation to academic and industrial researchers when it starts operations in January of 2004. The project is on time and on budget. The CLS uses radio frequency waves and powerful magnets to accelerate electrons to nearly the speed of light. The synchrotron then directs the resulting light through beamlines to laboratory endstations where scientists can do their experiments. Each beamline will be specialized for a specific technique or field of research. The CLS will be a tool for research and innovation in fields as diverse as medical imaging, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, environmental sciences, and materials science. Thales Radio Broadcast will subcontract the system integration, power supply and control system to Thales Broadcast and Multimedia AG of Switzerland. Thales Electron Devices of France will supply the Klystron -- the RF tube that produces the radio waves -- and other components of the system. The RF amplifier system will supply up to 300 kilowatts of power -- equivalent to 3,000 100-watt light bulbs. CLS construction is mainly funded by the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the Canadian government, the Saskatchewan government, the Alberta government, the Ontario government, the University of Saskatchewan, the City of Saskatoon, and SaskPower. This contract brings the total committed funds for CLS construction and services to $80 million, of which more than $54 million (68 per cent) has gone to Saskatchewan companies. A total of $141 million in contracts will be let for new construction. For more information on the CLS, visit: www.lightsource.ca. For more information, contact: Kathryn Warden Martin Heikoop Last modified: 2008-07-29 14:07:32 |
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