The National Synchrotron Light Source II at Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, New York is a national user research facility funded primarily by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science. NSLS-II is one of the world's most advanced synchrotron light sources, designed to produce x-rays 10,000 times brighter than BNL's original light source, the NationalSynchrotron Light Source. NSLS-II supports basic and applied research in energy security, advanced materials synthesis and manufacturing, environment, and human health. NSLS-II is a state-of-the-art, medium-energy electron storage ring. The facility enables the study of material properties and functions with nanoscale resolution and exquisite sensitivity by providing world-leading capabilities for x-ray imaging and high-resolution energy analysis. The facility is open to researchers from academia and industry. NSLS-II fuels major advances in new energy technologies such as nanocatalyst-based fuel cells, economical use of solar energy, high-temperature superconductors in a high capacity and high reliability electric grid, and advanced electrical storage systems for transportation and harnessing intermittent renewable energy sources.
Users and partners
Users
In 2017, NSLS-II served over 1,000 researchers from academic, industrial, and government laboratories worldwide. Any qualified researcher can submit a peer-reviewed proposal to use NSLS-II.
NSLS-II currently has 22 beamlines open for user operations. When the facility is complete, NSLS-II will have at least 58 beamlines in operation. The beamlines at NSLS-II are grouped into six programs: hard x-ray spectroscopy, imaging & microscopy, structural biology, soft x-ray scattering & spectroscopy, complex scattering, and diffraction & in situ scattering. These programs group beamlines together that offer similar types of research techniques for studying the behavior and structure of matter.
NSLS-II is a medium energy electron storage ring designed to deliver photons with high average spectral brightness exceeding 1021 ph/s in the 2 – 10 keV energy range and a flux density exceeding 1015 ph/s in all spectral ranges. This performance requires the storage ring to support a very high-current electron beam with a very small horizontal and verticalemittance. The electron beam is stable in its position, angle, dimensions, and intensity.
Storage ring lattice
The NSLS-II storage ring lattice consists of 30 double-bend achromat cells that can accommodate at least 58 beamlines for user experiments, distributed by type of source as follows:
15 low-beta ID straights for undulators or superconducting wigglers
12 high-beta ID straights for either undulators or damping wigglers
31 BM ports providing broadband sources covering the IR, VUV, and soft x-ray ranges. Any of these ports can alternatively be replaced by a 3PW port covering the hard x-ray range.
4 BM ports on large gap dipoles for very far-IR
Radiation sources
Continuing the tradition established by the NSLS, NSLS-II radiation sources span a very wide spectral range, from the far infrared to the very hard x-ray region. This is achieved by a combination of bending magnets, three-pole wigglers, and insertion device sources.
History
Construction of NSLS-II began in 2009 and was completed on-time and under budget in 2014. NSLS-II saw first light in October 2014. The facility cost US$912,000,000 to build, and the project received the DOE's Secretary's Award of Excellence. Torcon Inc., headquartered in New Jersey, was the general contractor selected by the DOE for the project.
