Suffolk Reporter

The National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II) marks its 10th anniversary of first light on October 23, 2024. Since opening in 2014 with six beamlines, the facility has expanded to include 29 operational beamlines, serving a diverse user base and supporting significant scientific advancements.

Over nine years, NSLS-II received over 15,000 requests for beam time and hosted nearly 6,000 users. In 2023 alone, the facility set records with 2,800 proposals and hosted a record-setting number of unique users. The facility continues to support educational initiatives through internships and workshops.

The accelerator at NSLS-II has evolved from its initial capacity of 50 mA to running at 400 mA, with plans to reach 500 mA by the mid-2020s. Efforts are ongoing to enhance reliability and performance through infrastructure upgrades.

New developments include the High Energy Engineering X-ray Scattering (HEX) beamline, which began operations in November 2022. HEX aims to advance clean energy technologies by enabling real-time studies of materials under working conditions.

Looking ahead, the NEXT-II project will add three new beamlines by July 2028: Coherent Diffractive Imaging (CDI), Angle-Resolved Photo-Electron Spectroscopy and Resonant Inelastic X-ray Scattering Imaging (ARI), and Soft X-ray Nanoprobe (SXN). Each brings unique capabilities that complement existing facilities.

Further expansion is planned under the NEXT-III project approved in September 2022. This initiative will construct additional beamlines over the next decade. Initial efforts focus on High-Resolution Powder Diffraction (HRD) and Quantitative Cellular Tomography (QCT).

Timur Shaftan noted a global evolution in light sources: "Everyone is upgrading to acquire more capability and capacity."

Michael Drakopoulos emphasized HEX's role: "The mission...is to help advance clean energy technologies."

Yong Chu remarked on NEXT-II's impact: "These beamlines will bring exciting new capabilities."

Wah-Keat Lee outlined NEXT-III's goals: "Our goal is to build next-generation beamlines that provide a rich end-to-end user experience."

As NSLS-II looks forward to another decade of growth and innovation, it remains committed to filling capability gaps and promoting groundbreaking research.