Category: SESAME

BEATS, SESAME’s fifth beamline sees light and expands the Centre’s scientific capability

BEATS, SESAME’s fifth beamline sees light and expands the Centre’s scientific capability

SESAME is glad to announce that on Thursday, 11th May 2023, at 16:48, a group of its engineers and scientists successfully delivered the first X-ray photon beam to the experimental station of the BEATS (BEAmline for Tomography at SESAME) beamline. During the experiment, more than 1000 X-ray radiographic images of a rotating test sample were obtained in only 12 seconds by one of the beamline detectors. The data was collected and reconstructed by the high-performance computing facility specifically designed for the beamline and installed at SESAME in 2022, thus allowing the generation of a 3D image of the object. 

The BEATS beamline will provide full-field X-ray radiography and tomography: two powerful and non-destructive techniques for 3D imaging and analysis of a large variety of objects and materials. With its non-destructive approach, this new beamline will deliver virtual volume images that are particularly important for the Cultural Heritage and Archaeological communities. The characterization of the 3D internal microstructure offered by tomography, is also of paramount importance for an exhaustive understanding of other materials, objects, and organisms. The BEATS beamline may be used in a large range of scientific and technological applications ranging from medicine, biology, engineering, and materials science to earth and planetary sciences, thus representing a key asset for researchers in the SESAME region.

The beamline was designed and built thanks to a European project that brought together leading research facilities in the Middle East (SESAME and The Cyprus Institute), and European synchrotron radiation facilities: ALBA-CELLS (Spain), DESY (Germany), Elettra (Italy), the ESRF (France), INFN (Italy), PSI (Switzerland) and SOLARIS (Poland). The initiative has been funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. The project was coordinated by the ESRF.

Read more on SESAME website

Image: SESAME 2023: Phase contrast reconstruction generated by combining 1000 projections of 12 ms exposure time each (left) of a vial of glass speres 300 µm in diameter positioned in front of the detector on the sample stage (right) for the first test of the BEATS beamline at SESAME.

Formation of the defect dipoles around dopants demonstrated in dielectric ceramics

Formation of the defect dipoles around dopants demonstrated in dielectric ceramics

A team of international scientists from China, Germany, Norway and Pakistan with SESAME staff have used the BM08 – XAFS/XRF beamline at SESAME for high dielectric constant materials that are of particular interest as indispensable components in electronics. The authors have demonstrated a new approach for optimizing the dielectric properties by acceptor–donor co-doping in (Gax, Cuy) Zn1−x–yO films fabricated with pulse laser deposition (PLD) or, alternatively, exchanging the co-doping step by ion implantation. Exploitation of defect engineering in dielectric ceramics for enhancing performance is an active research area globally. Materials with high dielectric constant (k) and low loss throughout a wide frequency range are among the key components for the device size scale-down in nanoelectronics. The XAFS study performed at SESAME revealed the formation of the defect dipoles around dopants.

Read more on the SESAME website

Image: Examples of the X-ray analysis. a) XPS data showing the Cu 2p spectra for the Cu8Zn92O and Ga0.5Cu8Zn91.5O films. b) The X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectra at the Cu K-edge of Cu8Zn92O and Ga0.5Cu8Zn91.5O samples including reference samples, e.g., Cu foil and CuO powder. c) Magnitude of the Fourier transform of the extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectra. d) Fourier transform of Real χ at the Zn K-edge of Ga0.5Zn99.5O, Cu8Zn92O, and Ga0.5Cu8Zn91.5O samples compared with theoretical model (black lines).

Inauguration of SESAME’s fourth beamline

Inauguration of SESAME’s fourth beamline

12 June saw the inauguration of yet another beamline at the SESAME synchrotron light facility near Amman (Jordan). This was the HElmholtz-SEsame Beamline (HESEB) for soft X-ray light designed and constructed by a consortium of five Helmholtz Research Centers of the Helmholtz Association under the lead of DESY. HESEB is a new, state-of-the-art measuring facility for experiments with soft X-ray light that will substantially widen research opportunities for scientists from the region and enable new international collaborations with many institutions, including German institutions. 

Among the dignitaries present to celebrate the event, to cut the ribbon and unveil a commemorative plaque marking the inauguration were H.E. Professor Wajih Owais, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research of Jordan, H.E. Mr Bernhard Kampmann, Ambassador of Germany to Jordan, Professor Rolf-Dieter Heuer, President of the SESAME Council, Professor Otmar Wiestler, President of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centers, and Professor Helmut Dosch, Chair of the Board of Directors at DESY – on behalf of the HESEB Consortium. Also present were the Governor of Balqa Governorate, the President of the Al-Balqa’ Applied University, members of the Jordan Parliament and of the Local Council, a high-level delegation from the Helmholtz Centers, and representatives of the Turkish and United Arab Emirates community and the local community. 

Read more on the SESAME website

Image: Commemorative plaque and the HESEB beamline

Credit: © SESAME 2022

Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow

Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow

The theme for International Women’s Day, 8 March, 2022 (IWD 2022) is, “Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow”, recognizing the contribution of women and girls around the world, who are leading the charge on climate change adaptation, mitigation, and response, to build a more sustainable future for all.

To mark the day and the theme, Lightsources.org brings you a special #LightSourceSelfie montage featuring just a few of the dedicated women who feature in our video campaign.

Installation of SESAME’s HESEB soft X-ray beamline starts

Installation of SESAME’s HESEB soft X-ray beamline starts

From 9th to 27th January, a team from the German company FMB Feinwerk- und Meßtechnik GmbH in Berlin that was awarded the contract for construction of HESEB, the Helmholtz-SESAME Beamline for soft X-ray spectroscopy, together with SESAME’s team, installed the complete front-end and optics of the beamline at the ID 11 port of the SESAME ring.

In 2019, five research centers of the German Helmholtz Association, DESY (Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron), FZJ (Forschungszentrum Jülich), HZB (Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin), HZDR (Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf), and KIT (Karlsruher Institut für Technologie), joined forces to implement a new, state-of-the-art soft X-ray beamline at SESAME. The HESEB project is being generously funded to the order of 3.5 M€ by the Initiative & Networking Fund of the Helmholtz Association.

The source will be a refurbished BESSY-II UE56 APPLE-II undulator provided by HZB.

HESEB will be the first soft X-ray beamline at SESAME and will significantly expand the research capabilities available to the user community in the Middle East and neighbouring regions. The undulator’s ability to provide linearly to circularly polarized light makes the beamline very suitable for materials science applications, especially magnetic materials. Its plane grating monochromator uses exchangeable gratings to cover a photon energy range from 70 eV to 2000 eV.

Image: The HESEB project team during installation at SESAME of the front-end and optics of the beamline

Credit: © SESAME 2022

Read more on the SESAME website and see a time-lapse video of the HESEB installation below: 

An abundance of talents within the light source community

An abundance of talents within the light source community

Monday Montage – Talents!

Our #LightSourceSelfies campaign has uncovered a wealth of talents among staff and users at light source facilities around the world. From skating to sculpting and painting to perennials, this Monday Montage illustrates the many hobbies and interests that those in our community enjoy in their spare time. With contributions from the ESRF, SESAME, LCLS and the European XFEL, this montage highlights the variety of activities that help people maintain a healthy work/life balance.

Spare time hobbies and interests

Spare time hobbies and interests

Finding ways to relax and recharge your batteries is really important and helps you maintain perspective, particularly during very busy periods at work. Participants in #LightSourceSelfies told us what they like to do in their spare time. This montage, with contributors from the Australian Synchrotron, CHESS, SESAME and the APS, shows the variety of interests that people within the light source community have. If you are looking for a new way to relax and unwind, you might find an idea that appeals to you in this #LightSourceSelfie!

Enjoying your spare time away from light sources!
Time to fly! One scientist’s story of being inspired and inspiring others

Time to fly! One scientist’s story of being inspired and inspiring others

Shiva Shirani is from Iran and is currently completing a PhD at the University of Malaga. Shiva’s research area is Synchrotron X-ray imaging applied to cementitious material with the goal to decrease our CO2 footprint and protect the planet. Many participants in our #LightSourceSelfies campaign have talked about the need to overcome setbacks and failure. There will always be challenges but success will come. Shiva’s research ideas led to her being granted an OPEN SESAME Fellowship to become a young scientific visitor at ID19 tomography beamline at the ESRF. But prior to this, there were setbacks. Shiva’s story, which she tells with honestly and passion, charts these setbacks and how she eventually found people who believed in her ideas. People who helped Shiva find her “two wings to fly”.

One of these people was the late Claudio Ferrero, one of Shiva’s supervisors at the ESRF. Claudio recognised the unique way that Shiva shares her passion for science with the world via Twitter and Instagram and encouraged her to continue this inspirational science communication. In the early stages of planning the #LightSourceSelfies campaign, Lightsources.org and SESAME recognised this too! We were delighted when Shiva agreed to participate in our campaign and we are very grateful to the ESRF who subsequently helped Shiva with the filming.

Here we present Shiva Shirani’s #LightSourceSelfie!

SESAME’s #LightSourceSelfie featuring Shiva Shirani
The Middle East synchrotron officially opens MS beamline

The Middle East synchrotron officially opens MS beamline

The 8th of July 2021 marked the inauguration of SESAME’s Materials Science (MS) beamline. The Ambassador of Switzerland to Jordan, H.E. Mr. Lukas Gasser, along with members of his embassy team, and UNESCO’s Representative to Jordan, Ms. Min Jeong Kim, were welcomed to the inaugural ceremony by the Director General of SESAME, Professor Khaled Toukan, and the Directors of SESAME. 

In his welcoming remarks, Khalid Toukan pointed out that the beamline now allowed the users of SESAME to obtain diffraction data of a quality unparalleled in any laboratory in the region.

The MS beamline is heavily based on the MS X04SA beamline previously in operation at the Swiss Light Source, and its donation to SESAME by the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) has resulted in SESAME having a powerful and extremely precise tool to investigate matter at the micro-, nano- and atomic-scale.

A ribbon officially inaugurating the beamline was cut by H.E. Mr. Lukas Gasser and Professor Khaled Toukan, together with Ms. Min Jeong Kim.

Work on the MS beamline had started in 2015, with the adaptation of the design of the MS X04SA beamline to the characteristics of SESAME’s machine. In 2016, after receiving the donation of another major component, a detector from the Swiss company Dectris, execution of the project was fast-tracked, and the installation phase took place between 2017 and 2019, which is when SESAME received a diffractometer for the beamline as a donation from the Diamond Light Source. Upon sourcing the necessary equipment, the MS beam was first delivered to SESAME’s experimental station at the end of 2019. Fine tuning and characterization of its performance continued during the Covid-19 pandemic, and in December 2020, the beamline started hosting its first users. A first paper utilizing data taken at the MS beamline has already been published in a high-impact journal.

Read more on the SESAME website

Image: Cutting the ribbon of the MS Beamline (left to right): the Director General of SESAME, Professor Khaled Toukan, the UNESCO Representative to Jordan Ms. Min Jeong Kim, and the Ambassador of Switzerland to Jordan, H.E. Mr. Lukas Gasser   Note: all picture participants are Covid-19 Vaccinated.

Credit: © SESAME 2021

SESAME announces the arrival of its new Administrative Director

SESAME announces the arrival of its new Administrative Director

On 1 February, Atef Abdelhamed Elkadime took up the position of Administrative Director of SESAME and despite COVID-19 he has already joined the Organization in Jordan.

Dr Elkadime has a PhD in Radiation Chemistry from Monoufia University (Egypt). For the last eight years he was Chairman of the Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority (EAEA).

He has extensive experience in the administration of large research facilities, as well as in research and teaching. In his position as Chairman of the EAEA, he managed an organization that has 4,000 employees and a very large annual budget. Having also held various other high-level positions at the EAEA he acquired managerial skills in all sections of this large facility.

As an AFRA (African Regional Agreement for Research, Development and Training related to Nuclear Science and Technology) National Coordinator, and Egypt’s National Liaison Officer (NLO) to the IAEA and representative at the Arab Atomic Energy Agency, as well as through a two-year position in Saudi Arabia and several fellowships and visits to scientifically-advanced countries (Austria, Denmark, France, Russia, the UK, the USA…..), Dr Elkadime has developed very extensive, well-established relations with intergovernmental organizations, the Gulf countries and countries of the North.

Read more on the SESAME website

Image: Atef Abdelhamed Elkadime

Credit: © SESAME 2020

SESAME’s Materials Science beamline starts full user operation

SESAME’s Materials Science beamline starts full user operation

On 17 December 2020, SESAME opened the doors of its Materials Science (MS) beamline to a team from the Royal Scientific Society (RSS) in Jordan, making this instrument, which is dedicated to structural studies with X-ray powder diffraction, the third of the Centre’s beamlines to be fully operational and hosting users.

“We are looking at the first diffraction pattern ever measured for a user sample on the newly-commissioned MS beamline at SESAME. RSS has a place in the history of SESAME”, said HRH Princess Sumaya bint El Hassan, President of the RSS.

The RSS team consists of Kyle Cordova, Executive Director of Scientific Research and Assistant for Research and Development to HRH Princess Sumaya bint El Hassan, and his colleague, the Junior Staff Scientist Ala’a Al-Ghourani. “Our research is focused on discovering new, highly-porous materials for use in mitigating the effects of climate change. Understanding our material’s structure at the atomic level is critical for ensuring that the target application can be met. SESAME’s MS beamline allows us to do this – through X-ray diffraction we can solve the chemical structure in order to improve our material’s end performance” indicated Kyle Cordova, adding “Being the first users is an immense honour. I am proud to be representing Jordan’s largest applied research institution, the Royal Scientific Society, in this historic first!”

Read more on the SESAME website

Image: Ala’a Al-Ghourani and Mahmoud Abdellatief preparing to mount a sample for study in the experimental hutch of the MS beamline.

Credit: Royal Scientific Society

SESAME: the doors are closed, but open for science

SESAME: the doors are closed, but open for science

Quarantine and curfew are affecting many activities in Jordan and abroad, but although SESAME’s doors have been closed since March 18th, the staff have been anything but inactive, devoting a great deal of their time at home to science and work.

With two new papers just published in the past few weeks, Messaoud Harfouche, the XAFS/XRF Beamline Scientist, keeps himself busy helping more users obtain results from the data taken at the beamline. “During these weeks, I am dealing with six projects at the same time, two from Egypt, two from Pakistan, one from Iran, and one from Jordan” he says. Given the difficulty of XAFS analysis and the complexity of some software packages, the degree of involvement in each project may vary from suggesting the best path in data analysis to full collaboration, implying result interpretation and participation in drafting a scientific paper. “Moreover”, continues Messaoud, “my own research projects were also in my drawer, waiting to be worked out. With willpower and a little perseverance, curfew may turn out to be very beneficial”.

On another front, scientists from synchrotron radiation laboratories in different points in Europe (ELETTRA in Italy, ESRF in France and SOLARIS in Poland) and SESAME in Jordan are collaborating at a distance on raytracing simulations for the Technical Design Report (TDR) of SESAME’s BEATS (BEAmline for Tomography at SESAME) beamline which is approaching finalization, and from their respective homes Matteo Altissimo (ELETTRA), Alexander Rack (ESRF), Tomasz Kolodziaj (SOLARIS), and Gianluca Iori (SESAME) are constantly in touch with each other. In parallel, from their homes, too, team members of SESAME’s technical sector have been collaborating in the final design of the front end and experimental station of the beamline. BEATS is SESAME’s hard X-ray tomography beamline that is expected to come on stream in 2022.

>Read more on the SESAME website

Picture: As in the case of thousands of researchers worldwide, computer screens and notebooks are currently the main tools for the work of SESAME’s staff.

SESAME facilities in ever-increasing demand

SESAME facilities in ever-increasing demand

No less than 151 proposals have been submitted in response to SESAME’s third call (Call “2”) for experiments on its three beamlines that closed on 27 January, thus confirming the ever-increasing demand for use of its facilities.

This time, it has been 64 proposals for experiments on its XAFS/XRF beamline that have been received, and 63 proposals for experiments on its IR beamline, as opposed to 60 and 43 proposals respectively in the second call, and 36 and 19 respectively in the first call. Added to this there have been 24 proposals for use of its MS beamline that comes into operation this year.
As in the first two calls in which there were not only proposals from the Members of SESAME but also from countries further afield (Colombia, France, Germany, Italy, Kenya, Mexico and Sweden), this time again they have not only originated from the Members of SESAME. There have again been proposals from Italy and Kenya, but also from Belgium, Malta, Qatar, South Africa and the U.K.
The large number of proposals and the variety of places from where they originate are excellent by any standards, and SESAME is greatly encouraged by the continuous upward trend in the number being received whether from users having already utilized SESAME’s facilities who are seeking to return to carry out further measurements, or new users from both the SESAME Members and beyond. In the case of the first group, this demonstrates that SESAME’s facilities are fully meeting users’ expectations, while in the second, this is evidence of the sound reputation SESAME is gaining on the world stage as a state-of-the-art synchrotron light source.

>Read more on the SESAME website

First light for SESAME’s MS beamline

First light for SESAME’s MS beamline

On Monday, 23rd December 2019, at 13:21, scientists at the SESAME light source successfully delivered the first X-ray monochromatic beam to the experimental station of the Materials Science (MS) beamline, that will be used in applications of the X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) technique in materials science, The beamline will provide a powerful tool for studying microcrystalline or disordered/amorphous material on the atomic scale, the evolution of nano-scale structures and materials in various environmental conditions and for developing and characterising new smart materials.  

To have seen the X-ray signal inside the MS experimental station was very exciting said the MS beamline scientist, Mahmoud Abdellatief. It was the realization of four years of hard work, and has given me added stimulus for the new challenges lying ahead before the beamline may host users in some six months. 

Picture: SESAME scientists just after obtaining the first monochromatic X-ray fluorescence signal (from left to right: Mahmoud Abdellatief, MS beamline scientist, Messaoud Harfouche, XAFS/XRF beamline scientist, and Gihan Kamel, IR beamline scientist)
Credit: SESAME

17th Users’ Meeting at SESAME and inauguration of the guest house

17th Users’ Meeting at SESAME and inauguration of the guest house

Some 80 scientists from the region and beyond are meeting at SESAME on 30 November and 1 December to discuss the scientific programme and latest results from the laboratory. For the first time, the Users’ meeting is being held on the SESAME campus in a new guest house and meeting facility. Another first this year is that the meeting is being held jointly with the European Synchrotron and FEL User Organisation, ESUO, a sign of SESAME’s growing integration into the international research landscape.

The programme opened with a welcome from the Laboratory’s Director, Khaled Toukan, and an update on the SESAME scientific programme and beamlines. It continued with presentations of results from experiments conducted at SESAME. There were also presentations from representatives of European light sources, as well as from the OPEN SESAME consortium, an EU funded project that has provided training support since 2017 and concludes this year, the BEATS consortium, another EU funded project building a tomography beamline at SESAME, and from HESEB, a SESAME-Helmholtz collaboration for the installation of a new soft X-ray beamline.

>Read more on the SESAME website
Image: A group photo for the 17th annual SESAME Users’ meeting.
Credit: SESAME.

Article about the inauguration of SESAME’s guest house.

Publication of the first scientific paper

Publication of the first scientific paper

June 1, 2019 marks a historically important accomplishment for SESAME, where the very first scientific paper presenting results using data obtained at SESAME’s X-ray absorption fine structure/X-ray fluorescence (XAFS/XRF) spectroscopy beamline was published in Applied Catalysis B: Environmental.

S: Bac et al. Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 259, 2019, 117808 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0926337319305545

Synchrotron measurements performed at SESAME were carried out by the research group of Associate Professor Emrah Ozensoy (Bilkent University Chemistry Department and UNAM-National Nanotechnology Center Ankara, Turkey), in collaboration with the research group of Professor Ahmet Kerim Avcı (Boğaziçi University, Chemical Engineering Department, Istanbul, Turkey) and Dr Messaoud Harfouche (XAFS/XRF beamline scientist, SESAME, Allan, Jordan).
The paper entitled Exceptionally active and stable catalysts for CO2 reforming of glycerol to syngas is the outcome of a measurement campaign at SESAME in July 2018 and focuses on the catalytic valorization of a biomass waste material (i.e. glycerol) to obtain synthesis gas (or syngas, CO + H2). Glycerol is an important renewable feedstock for the large-scale catalytic production of synthetic liquid fuels through a process called Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. In the words of Emrah Ozensoy “XAFS/XRF experiments performed at SESAME were instrumental for us to understand the electronic structure of the Co/CoOx and Ni/NiOx nanoparticles serving as the catalytic active sites. Particularly, complementing the experimental data acquired in our labs with the results obtained at SESAME allowed us to examine the nature of the fresh catalysts and compare them with that of the spent catalysts obtained after the catalytic reaction, revealing crucial molecular-level insights regarding the catalytic aging and poisoning mechanisms.”

>Read more on the SESAME website

Image: Kerem Emre Ercan Some of the researchers who contributed to the publication and data acquisition (from left to right, Yusuf Koçak, Kerem E. Ercan, and M. Fatih Genişel)