Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source (CHESS)

photo credit: Jon Reis

Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source (CHESS) is a high-intensity X-ray source which provides users state-of-the-art synchrotron radiation facilities for research in Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Environmental and Materials Sciences.
The National Science Foundation, NSF, supports the Center for High-Energy X-ray Sciences at CHESS ( CHEXS at CHESS) and operates beamlines optimized for the structural characterization of quantum materials, structural metals and biological systems, as well as X-ray spectroscopy of systems ranging from enzymes to energy materials.

The National Institute of Health (NIH) and New York State (through NYSTAR) jointly support X-ray facilities for macromolecular crystallography and small angle scattering (MacCHESS) to understand the structure and function of the building blocks of life. The new Materials Solutions Network at CHESS (MSN-C) funded by the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) provides dedicated access to X-ray beamlines for Air Force and other Department of Defense materials researchers enabling breakthroughs in materials and designs for military components.
  • After the successful CHESS-U project, users will now see an extraordinary boost in beam quality from the insertion devices available at each of the beamlines.
  • By eliminating one of the counterrotating beams, the accelerator team is now able to focus solely on positrons, creating some of the world’s brightest X-rays for research.

Latest News From CHESS


Location
USA, Ithaca (New York)
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Specifications
Energy: 6 GeV
Current: 50x200mA
Operational Beamlines: 7
Horizontal emittance: 30 nm rad
Vertical emittance: 0.3 nm rad

Call for proposals
Proposals for beamtime can be submitted three times a year and remain active for up to two years. Proposal deadlines can be found here.