Fourth-generation Synchrotron Light Source Research Articles

Research on the optimization methods of common points layout for survey and alignment of particle accelerators

As a fourth-generation synchrotron light source based on a diffraction-limited storage ring, Hefei Advanced Light Facility (HALF) puts forward higher requirements for the alignment accuracy of the main components. Aggregated common points result in a loss of accuracy during the coordinate transformation required by accelerator alignment. To address this challenge, we proposed two methods: “aggregated points centralization (APC)" and “uniformity-weighted algorithm (UWA)" according to different usage scenarios. APC combines uniformity with the K-means algorithm to enhance the accuracy of coordinate transformation while reducing the number of common points. UWA calculates the uniformity in different directions and assigns weights to common points, reducing the accuracy loss. Simulations demonstrate that these two methods have strong superiority and stability with significantly improved accuracy. Applications of these 2 methods in the magnet unit pre-alignment experiment and tunnel network measurement show promising results. APC in pre-alignment can reduce the cost of building common points by 26% while maintaining the coordinate conversion accuracy. In tunnel network measurement, accuracy can be increased by 28% using UWA. The methods proposed offer broad applicability in the field of particle accelerator alignment and guiding alignment solutions for HALF.

Button-Type Beam Position Monitor Development for Fourth-Generation Synchrotron Light Sources: Numerical Modeling and Test Bench Measurements.

This paper addresses the design of beam position monitor (BPM) devices suitable for fourth-generation diffraction-limited X-ray storage rings. Detailed investigations of the electromagnetic (EM) phenomena occurring inside the component under various working conditions are carried out by considering different BPM EM models defined by their geometry and materials. Moving from a theoretical characterization of the common round geometry, rhomboidal structures are studied through a careful numerical analysis relying on advanced computer-aided tools. Several critical elements, such as wakefields, pick-up signal extraction, and trapped and propagating modes, are explored from the simulation point of view and from the experimental one, by deploying a manufactured microwave test bench, which is employed to measure the radio frequency behavior of a BPM prototype built at Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste. The aim of the proposed study is to identify a satisfactory tradeoff between achievable performance and practical realizability for BPM devices operating in last-generation light sources.

Site-vibration assessment for the SKIF SYNCHROTRON

The Siberian ring source of photons (SKIF) is a new fourth-generation synchrotron light source currently under construction in Koltsovo city, Russia. The beam stability of modern synchrotron sources, characterized by low emittance, is sensitive to insignificant levels of ground vibrations. We assessed the seismic noise variation from external sources recorded at the construction site of the SKIF. For the frequency range 1–20 Hz, the transmission coefficients for the vertical and horizontal recording components were 0.38 and 0.725, respectively. In the frequency range 20–100 Hz – 0.12 and 0.06, respectively. Analysis of experimental data shows the effectiveness of suppressing high-amplitude external noise in the frequency range of 2-100 Hz when transmitting vibrations from the ground to the SKIF storage ring basement. The coefficients determined for the basement match well with the design model.

Heitt Mjölnir: a heated miniature triaxial apparatus for 4D synchrotron microtomography.

Third- and fourth-generation synchrotron light sources with high fluxes and beam energies enable the use of innovative X-ray translucent experimental apparatus. These experimental devices access geologically relevant conditions whilst enabling in situ characterization using the spatial and temporal resolutions accessible at imaging beamlines. Here, Heitt Mjölnir is introduced, a heated miniature triaxial rig based on the design of Mjölnir, but covering a wider temperature range and larger sample volume at similar pressure capacities. This device is designed to investigate coupled thermal, chemical, hydraulic and mechanical processes from grain to centimetre scales using cylindrical samples of 10 mm × 20 mm (diameter × length). Heitt Mjölnir can simultaneously reach confining (hydraulic) pressures of 30 MPa and 500 MPa of axial stress with independently controlled sample pore fluid pressure < 30 MPa. This internally heated apparatus operates to temperatures up to 573 K with a minimal vertical thermal gradient in the sample of <0.3 K mm-1. This new apparatus has been deployed in operando studies at the TOMCAT (Swiss Light Source), I12 JEEP (Diamond Light Source) and PSICHÉ (Synchrotron SOLEIL) beamlines for 4D X-ray microtomography with scan intervals of a few minutes. Heitt Mjölnir is portable and modular, allowing a wide range of 4D characterizations of low-grade metamorphism and deformational processes. It enables spatially and temporally resolved fluid-rock interaction studies at conditions of crustal reservoirs and is suitable for characterization of material properties in geothermal, carbonation or subsurface gas storage applications. Technical drawings and an operation guide are included in this publication.

Obtaining picosecond x-ray pulses from fourth generation synchrotron light sources

Obtaining picosecond x-ray pulses from fourth generation synchrotron light sources

A low-frequency normal conducting cavity with higher-order mode damping for fourth-generation synchrotron radiation sources.

The utilization of a low-frequency (<200MHz) RF system in storage facilitates the attainment of ultra-low emittances in synchrotron light sources through on-axis injection. This paper focuses on the development of a low-frequency normal conducting (NC) cavity with higher-order mode (HOM) damping for fourth-generation synchrotron light sources. We propose a novel approach to achieve efficient HOM damping in a NC cavity by optimizing the lowest frequency HOM and implementing a beam-line absorber. Notably, unlike conventional NC cavities, the presence of a large beam tube for the beam-line absorber does not compromise the accelerating performance in a coaxial resonant cavity, enabling effective HOM damping while maintaining a high shunt impedance. Through simulations, the prototype design of a 166.6MHz HOM-damped cavity demonstrates a fundamental mode impedance of ∼8 MΩ, with longitudinal and transverse HOM impedances below 2.0 and 50 kΩ/m, respectively.

Toward a fully coherent tender and hard X-ray free-electron laser via cascaded EEHG in fourth-generation synchrotron light sources.

Free-electron-laser-based beamlines utilize fully coherent laser pulses with extremely narrow bandwidth allowing direct use of X-rays without monochromators. This could be very beneficial for all users of current and future fourth-generation diffraction-limited synchrotron light sources (DL-SLSs) who need narrowband full-coherence high-brightness X-ray pulses. Based on our previous finding, i.e. that separating the two stages of echo-enabled harmonic generation (EEHG) with a few extra bending-magnet sections provides an effective way to increase the momentum compaction of chicane 1, one can simultaneously achieve adequate prebunching at extremely high harmonics as well as keep the energy modulation to the ideal minimum. This could open the door for cascaded EEHG, toward fully coherent tender and hard X-ray wavelengths. Built on our compact design of a twin-pulse seeding electron beam with an adjustable delay and timing jitter at the level of a few femtoseconds, a cascaded EEHG can be implemented, which includes two EEHG beamlines, where the radiation pulse generated by the first beamline with harmonic h1 could be used as the input seed laser pulse to the second beamline with harmonic h2. Hence, the second radiator could potentially reach very high harmonics [h = h1(20)h2(25-100)] from 500 to 2000, corresponding to tender and hard X-ray wavelengths. It is demonstrated that the cascaded EEHG scheme is compatible with almost any current or planned fourth-generation DL-SLS, with significant benefits for space-limited storage rings in particular. The main advantage is that this scheme requires almost no change of the storage-ring lattice and is fully compatible with other beamlines. Current proposals for rings with much longer straight sections would add self-amplified spontaneous emission as another viable option for storage-ring-based free-electron lasers.

PAINEIRA beamline at Sirius: an automated facility for polycrystalline XRD characterization

Herein we outline the design of the Paineira beamline – a beamline dedicated to powder X-ray diffraction at the new Brazilian synchrotron source (Sirius). The optical layout optimizes the high photon brightness of the fourth-generation synchrotron light source generated by an undulator. The heavy-duty diffractometer operating in Debye-Scherrer geometry has two detector setups: a multi-analyser crystal for high-resolution and an arc-shaped area detector covering 100° in scattering angle (2θ). The beamline is optimized by carrying out high-throughput measurements with the possibility of rapid setup changes to in-situ and operando measurement conditions. Paineira beamline is under construction and will open new opportunities for materials science, catalysis, energy materials, and geoscience research with synchrotron XRD in Brazil.

Toward fully coherent soft x-ray free-electron laser via echo-enabled harmonic generation in fourth generation synchrotron light sources.

Having previously reported on bunching via echo-enabled harmonic generation (EEHG) as an effective way to improve the longitudinal coherence in the NSLS-II storage ring [X. Yang et al., Sci. Rep. 12, 9437 (2022)], we demonstrate that this EEHG scheme can be easily adopted to any fourth generation diffraction-limited synchrotron light source with significant benefits. The advantage of the scheme is that it requires no change of the lattice and is fully compatible with other beamlines. Since the EEHG performance is mainly determined by the momentum compaction, beam emittances, and beta functions of a SR lattice, we have identified these crucial parameters and successfully built a generalized model, which can predict the performance of nearly any SLS. Regarding the fourth generation SLSs, momentum compactions are often significantly smaller; thus, to cover the x rays with a photon energy of up to 1keV, we utilize a specific design, including a 250nm seed-laser wavelength. Our model predicts that for most of the current and future fourth generation SLSs, the EEHG scheme can produce significant prebunching up to harmonic 200 and, thus, generate a few MW scale peak power at 1.25nm wavelength.

Beam loss monitoring system for the SKIF synchrotron light source

The Siberian ring source of photons (SKIF) is a new 3 GeV fourth-generation synchrotron light source being developed by the Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics (BINP). A beam loss monitoring system is necessary to ensure its reliable commissioning and operation. Two types of beam loss monitors will be installed in the SKIF: 5 fiber-based Cherenkov beam loss monitors (CBLMs) for the linac and transfer lines and 128 scintillator-based beam loss monitors (SBLMs) for the storage ring. Sophisticated electronic equipment is employed to use these monitors in different modes of SKIF operation. The paper describes the design of the SKIF beam loss monitoring system based on numerical simulations and experimental studies.

Development of 200 MeV linac for the SKIF light source injector

The new fourth-generation synchrotron light source SKIF is under development in Novosibirsk, Russia. It consists of a 3 GeV electron storage ring with extremely low emittance, a booster synchrotron, and a linear accelerator. The paper discusses essential aspects of the design of the 200 MeV linear accelerator for SKIF, its main characteristics, and parameters in different operation modes. Description of the linac systems is presented.

Equilibrium of an arbitrary bunch train with cavity resonators and short range wake: Enhanced iterative solution with Anderson acceleration

This paper continues the work of two previous treatments of bunch lengthening by a passive harmonic cavity in an electron storage ring. Such cavities, intended to reduce the effect of Touschek scattering, are a feature of fourth generation synchrotron light sources. The charge densities in the equilibrium state are given by solutions of coupled Ha\"issinski equations, which are nonlinear integral equations. If the only wake fields are from cavity resonators, the unknowns can be the Fourier transforms of bunch densities at the resonator frequencies. The solution scheme based on this choice of unknowns proved to be deficient at the design current when multiple resonators were included. Here we return to the conventional formulation of Ha\"issinski equations in coordinate space, the unknowns being charge densities at mesh points on a fine grid. This system would be awkward to solve by the Newton method used previously, because the Jacobian matrix is very large. Here a new solution is described, which is both Jacobian-free and much simpler. It is based on an elementary fixed point iteration, accelerated by Anderson's method. The scheme is notably fast and robust, accommodating even the case of extreme over-stretching at current far beyond the design value. The Anderson method is promising for many problems in accelerator theory and beyond, since it is quite simple and can be used to attack all kinds of nonlinear and linear integral and differential equations. Results are presented for ALS-U, with updated design parameters. The model includes harmonic and main r.f. cavities, compensation of beam loading of the main cavity by adjustment of the generator voltage, and a realistic short range wake field (rather than the broad-band resonator wake invoked previously).

Measurement of the coherent beam properties at the CoSAXS beamline.

The CoSAXS beamline at the MAX IV Laboratory is a modern multi-purpose (coherent) small-angle X-ray scattering (CoSAXS) instrument, designed to provide intense and optionally coherent illumination at the sample position, enabling coherent imaging and speckle contrast techniques. X-ray tracing simulations used to design the beamline optics have predicted a total photon flux of 1012-1013 photons s-1 and a degree of coherence of up to 10% at 7.1 keV. The normalized degree of coherence and the coherent flux of this instrument were experimentally determined using the separability of a ptychographic reconstruction into multiple mutually incoherent modes and thus the Coherence in the name CoSAXS was verified. How the beamline can be used both for coherent imaging and XPCS measurements, which both heavily rely on the degree of coherence of the beam, was demonstrated. These results are the first experimental quantification of coherence properties in a SAXS instrument at a fourth-generation synchrotron light source.

Studies on Transverse Resonance Island Buckets in third and fourth generation synchrotron light sources

A Transverse Resonance Island Bucket optics has a betatron tune close to a resonance, such that the particle motion is governed by non-linear terms in the equation of motion. This results in additional stable fixed points in transverse phase-space, which can be populated with a single RF-bunch filling pattern. Thus, these optics have the potential of providing pseudo single-bunch operation, i.e. allows some beamlines to receive light pulses at the revolutionary frequency while the remaining beamlines continue to receive pulses with a frequency set by the ring RF. By blocking either the synchrotron radiation from the standard orbit or secondary orbit each beamline can individually choose whether they want multi- or single-bunch synchrotron radiation. Transverse Resonance Island Bucket optics were achieved in both MAX IV storage rings. In particular, the optics of the 1.5 GeV ring has been characterized both theoretically and experimentally, and we show that TRIBs are achieved in a lattice without any octupolar elements. Furthermore, a feasibility study was performed which indicates that the beamlines of the 1.5 GeV ring could make use of the synchrotron radiation from the island orbit while blocking the standard orbit radiation.

Microsecond hydrodynamic interactions in dense colloidal dispersions probed at the European XFEL.

Many soft-matter systems are composed of macromolecules or nanoparticles suspended in water. The characteristic times at intrinsic length scales of a few nanometres fall therefore in the microsecond and sub-microsecond time regimes. With the development of free-electron lasers (FELs) and fourth-generation synchrotron light-sources, time-resolved experiments in such time and length ranges will become routinely accessible in the near future. In the present work we report our findings on prototypical soft-matter systems, composed of charge-stabilized silica nanoparticles dispersed in water, with radii between 12 and 15 nm and volume fractions between 0.005 and 0.2. The sample dynamics were probed by means of X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy, employing the megahertz pulse repetition rate of the European XFEL and the Adaptive Gain Integrating Pixel Detector. We show that it is possible to correctly identify the dynamical properties that determine the diffusion constant, both for stationary samples and for systems driven by XFEL pulses. Remarkably, despite the high photon density the only observable induced effect is the heating of the scattering volume, meaning that all other X-ray induced effects do not influence the structure and the dynamics on the probed timescales. This work also illustrates the potential to control such induced heating and it can be predicted with thermodynamic models.

Removal of spurious data in Bragg coherent diffraction imaging: an algorithm for automated data preprocessing

Bragg coherent diffraction imaging (BCDI) provides a powerful tool for obtaining high-resolution structural information from nanocrystalline materials. Here a BCDI sample consisting of a large number of randomly oriented nanoscale crystals is considered. Ideally, only one crystal is oriented to produce a Bragg peak on the detector. However, diffraction from other crystals often produces additional signals on the detector. Before the measured diffraction patterns can be processed into structural images, scientists routinely need to manually identify and remove the `alien' intensities from sources other than the intended crystal. With the development of modern high-coherence storage rings, such as the upgraded Advanced Photon Source (APS), the already slow process of manual preprocessing will be untenable for the large volumes of data that will be produced. An automated method of identifying and deleting alien intensities is proposed. This method exploits the fact that BCDI of a perfect crystal produces diffraction data with inversion symmetry around the Bragg peak. This approach uses the machine learning clustering method DBSCAN to distinguish between diffraction from multiple sources, and then calculates cluster size and inversion symmetry to assess whether clusters of intensity belong to desired data or alien signals. This approach can dramatically reduce the amount of time spent manually processing data, allowing BCDI data processing capabilities to keep pace with the technological advances of fourth-generation synchrotron light sources.

Equilibrium of an arbitrary bunch train in the presence of multiple resonator wakefields

A higher harmonic cavity (HHC), used to cause bunch lengthening for an increase in the Touschek lifetime, is a feature of several fourth generation synchrotron light sources. The desired bunch lengthening is complicated by the presence of required gaps in the bunch train. In a recent paper the author and Venturini studied the effect of various fill patterns by calculating the charge densities in the equilibrium state, through coupled Ha\"issinski equations. We assumed that the only collective force was from the beam loading (wake field) of the harmonic cavity in its lowest mode. The present paper improves the notation and organization of the equations so as to allow an easy inclusion of multiple resonator wake fields. This allows one to study the effects of beam loading of the main accelerating cavity, higher order modes of the cavities, and short range geometric wakes represented by low-$Q$ resonators. As an example these effects are explored for ALS-U. The compensation of the induced voltage in the main cavity, achieved in practice by a feedback system, is modeled by adjustment of the generator voltage through a new iterative scheme. Except in the case of a complete fill, the compensated main cavity beam loading has a substantial effect on the bunch profiles and the Touschek lifetimes. A $Q=6$ resonator, approximating the effect of a realistic short range wake, is also consequential for the bunch forms.

Detector Tilt Considerations in Bragg Coherent Diffraction Imaging: A Simulation Study

This paper addresses the three-dimensional signal distortion and image reconstruction issues in X-ray Bragg coherent diffraction imaging (BCDI) in the event of a general non-orthogonal orientation of the area detector with respect to the diffracted beam. Growing interest in novel BCDI adaptations at fourth-generation synchrotron light sources has necessitated improvisations in the experimental configuration and the subsequent data analysis. One such possibly unavoidable improvisation that is envisioned in this paper is a photon-counting area detector whose face is tilted away from the perpendicular to the Bragg-diffracted beam during the acquisition of the coherent diffraction signal. We describe a likely circumstance in which one would require such a detector configuration, along with the experimental precedent at third-generation synchrotrons. Using physically accurate diffraction simulations from synthetic scatterers in the presence of such tilted detectors, we analyze the general nature of the observed signal distortion qualitatively and quantitatively and provide a prescription to correct for it during image reconstruction. Our simulations and reconstructions are based on an adaptation of the known theory of BCDI sampling geometry, as well as the recently developed projection-based methods of wavefield propagation. Such configurational modifications and their numerical remedies are potentially valuable in realizing unconventional coherent diffraction measurement geometries, eventually paving the way for the integration of BCDI into new material characterization experiments at next-generation light sources.

Fast reconstruction tools for ptychography at Sirius, the fourth-generation Brazilian synchrotron

Described here are image reconstruction optimizations for ptychographic coherent X-ray scattering data and X-ray fluorescence, which have been developed for the new fourth-generation synchrotron light source, Sirius, at the Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory. The optimization strategy has been applied to the standard experimental strategy for ptychographic and fluorescence experiments on the Carnaúba beamline which involves the use of high-speed continuous scans (fly scans) for a fast acquisition time over large areas through the use of a newly proposed trajectory named the alternating linear trajectory. The scientific computing developments presented here target an efficient use of graphical processing units (GPUs) to the point where large fly-scan acquisitions can be processed in real time on a local high-performance computer. Some optimizations involving a custom fast Fourier transform implementation and use of mixed precision can be applied to other algorithms and phase-retrieval techniques, and therefore this work provides a general optimization scheme. Finally, the optimization strategy presented here has improved performance by a factor of ∼2.5 times faster when compared with non-optimized GPU implementations.

First ptychographic X-ray computed tomography experiment on the NanoMAX beamline.

Ptychographic X-ray computed tomography is a quantitative three-dimensional imaging technique offered to users of multiple synchrotron radiation sources. Its dependence on the coherent fraction of the available X-ray beam makes it perfectly suited to diffraction-limited storage rings. Although MAX IV is the first, and so far only, operating fourth-generation synchrotron light source, none of its experimental stations is currently set up to offer this technique to its users. The first ptychographic X-ray computed tomography experiment has therefore been performed on the NanoMAX beamline. From the results, information was gained about the current limitations of the experimental setup and where attention should be focused for improvement. The extracted parameters in terms of scanning speed, size of the imaged volume and achieved resolutions should provide a baseline for future users designing nano-tomography experiments on the NanoMAX beamline.