News Release Communique
Tests on 'Linac' First Step in Commissioning Canada's First Synchrotron
This week, the Canadian Light Source (CLS) commissioning team successfully operated the refurbished linear accelerator or 'linac' -- the first step in commissioning the national synchrotron that will supply brilliant light beams to scientists at experimental workstations starting in January of 2004.
"This is the CLS's first operating subsystem and we're delighted that the linac's new control systems and refurbished accelerator components are working as planned," said accelerator physicist and commissioning team leader Les Dallin.
It's expected to take another three months to fully test and analyze the electron beam that will exit from the linac, he said. The linac uses microwave energy to increase the speed of electrons fired from an electron gun (a device similar to what is found in the cathode ray tube of a television or computer) to nearly the speed of light.
Construction of the $173.4-million, University of Saskatchewan-owned national facility is on time and on budget.
The intense synchrotron light -- millions of times brighter than sunlight -- will be used to view chemical reactions and the micro-structure of materials, paving the way for new drugs, more powerful computer chips, better engine lubricants, more effective medical imaging and a host of other applications for science and industry.
The linac was built on the U of S campus in the early 60s for sub-atomic physics research. The linac's presence on campus and the skills of former Saskatchewan Accelerator Laboratory staff -- such as Dallin and his team -- are key reasons the U of S won the national bid to have the CLS built here.
The linac has undergone a major overhaul since the CLS was approved in March of 1999. Changes include a new computerized control system, upgrading of heat exchangers and streamlining of the system to make it more efficient. The rate of electron pulses has been greatly decreased to match the requirements of other key synchrotron components -- the booster and storage rings.
The booster ring, which boosts the energy of the electron beam, has been ordered and will be installed this fall.
When electrons exit the linac, they will have an energy of more than 200 million electron volts (equivalent to 133 million flashlight batteries). The booster ring will then use magnetic fields to force the electrons to race in a circle and powerful radio waves to ramp the energy of the electron beam by a factor of 15 (to 2.9 billion electron volts).
The speeding electrons will then be transferred to the storage ring, a 170-metre donut-shaped vacuum tube. This will be repeated until large currents (up to 500 milliAmps) are accumulated. Magnets in the ring bend or accelerate the electrons to produce light over a spectrum from infrared to X-rays. This very bright and stable light will be directed down beamlines to hutches where scientists can use it for their experiments.
Components for the state-of-the-art storage ring have been ordered and will be installed in 2002. Both the booster and storage rings will be turned on for testing by the end of this year and early in 2003 respectively.
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.
For more information about the CLS and how it works, visit: http://www.lightsource.ca
For more information, contact:
Kathryn Warden
Research Communications Officer
Office of the Vice President (Research)
Tel: (306) 966-2506
Fax: (306) 966-2411
kathryn.warden@usask.ca
Les Dallin
CLS Commissioning Team Leader
Tel: (306)966-6062
les@cls.usask.ca
Last modified: 2012-01-19 17:01:42