The Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), the world's most powerful X-ray laser that is located at the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, is getting a major upgrade. The procedure will result in the addition of a second laser beam that is 10,000 times bigger than the first and allow the laser to fire 8,000 times faster at a million pulses per second.
Scientists are expecting the upgrade project, called LCLS-II, to give a huge boost to the SLAC's LCLS.
"LCLS-II will take X-ray science to the next level, opening the door to a whole new range of studies of the ultrafast and ultrasmall," said Mike Dunne, the project's director. "This will tremendously advance our ability to develop transformative technologies of the future, including novel electronics, life-saving drugs and innovative energy solutions."
The X-ray laser's new level of power will give scientists the ability to examine atomic processes across a greater range of energy by using the LCLS to excite particles in various ways, capturing their reactions in lightning fast moments.
The LCLS laser beam is created through the propulsion of electrons through a magnet-lined tunnel referred to as an undulator. Travelling at almost the speed of light, these electrons travel down the tunnel and release X-rays as they bounce off of its sides.
With the LCLS-II upgrade, the tunnel with feature niobium metal cavities. These cavities do not lose any energy when cooled, allowing the electrons to bounce through the undulator without sacrificing as much energy and thus creating a brighter, more powerful beam.
"The upgrade will benefit X-ray experiments in many different ways, and I'm very excited to use the new capabilities for my own research," said Peter Weber, a Brown University physics professor. "With LCLS-II, we'll be able to bring the motions of atoms much more into focus, which will help us better understand the dynamics of crucial chemical reactions."
The LCLS was still the world's most powerful X-ray laser when it created its first pulse in 2009 and has since been used to study atomic processes and observe objects with a capture speed in the billionths of a second. The laser has helped researchers examine the breaking of molecular bonds and to create 3-D images of proteins that provide benefits for medicinal research.
