The new synchrotron radiation source at Aarhus: ASTRID2
A new synchrotron radiation [SR] facility, ASTRID2, is being commissioned at Aarhus University. Housed in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, ASTRID2 replaces the current ASTRID source and is designed as a very high brightness source of SR in the range of photon energy of a few eV up to 1 keV. ASTRID2 is a partner in the new EU Transnational Access-program CALIPSO, filling an important niche in SR for European science.
ASTRID2 runs at 580 MeV and will be world-leading in the low photon energy range at <100 eV, with small source size and associated high brilliance. The beam lifetime will essentially be unlimited due to a “top-up” technique whereby a few mA of current is injected at the full beam energy every few minutes, without significant interruption to the beam. This mode of operation solves the especially severe problem for low energy and high brilliance SR sources of a poor lifetime, which is the bane of experimentalists. The top-up technique is now adopted throughout the SR community but this is the first time that it has been successfully implemented for such a low energy machine.
During present commissioning we have stored currents of up to 150 mA and we aim to run ASTRID2 at 200 mA in due course. This will give typically 1015 photons/s in a 0.1% bandwidth at 35 eV at an undulator. There are four straight sections available for insertion devices of which three are currently allocated to two undulators and one wiggler. There are a number of fixed multi-purpose beamlines under construction for ASTRID2. These comprise (i) two beamlines optimized in the VUV for circular and linear dichroism [CD/LD] and absorption spectroscopy, (ii) two surface science beamlines comprising both low and intermediate energy angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy [ARPES], (iii) a molecular physics beamline with ion storage [SAPHIRA] using technology developed from the electrostatic storage ring ELISA for the study of the photophysics of positive and negative ions, including biomolecular ions, (iv) a 1 meV resolution photoelectron source for the study of spontelectric materials and electron scattering in general.
Within 6 months there will be the first call for applications for the use of ASTRID2 for European users under CALIPSO and for users worldwide. Further information about ASTRID2 can be found on the ISA website and also directly from Søren Pape Møller and David Field. We look forward to your applications to use this new facility with all the opportunities it offers.
