25 August 2020 – A brilliant new light shines in Grenoble, France, with the opening of the ESRF-Extremely Brilliant Source (ESRF-EBS), the first-of-a-kind fourth-generation high-energy synchrotron. After a 20-month shutdown, scientific users are back at the ESRF to carry out experiments with the new EBS source.
The ring-shaped machine, 844 metres in circumference, generates X-ray beams 100 times brighter than its predecessor’s, and 10 trillion times brighter than medical X-rays. This intense X-ray beam hails a new era for science to understand the complexity of materials and living matter at the nanometric level. ESRF-EBS will contribute to tackling global challenges in key areas such as health, environment, energy and new industrial materials, and to unveiling hidden secrets of our natural and cultural heritage through the non-destructive investigation of precious artefacts and palaeontological treasures. A shining example of international cooperation, EBS has been funded by 22 countries joining forces to construct this innovative and world-unique research infrastructure with an investment of 150 million euros over 2015-2022, lighting the way for more than a dozen projects worldwide, including in the United States and Japan.
“The opening of the first high-energy fourth-generation synchrotron to users is a landmark for the whole X-ray science community. We are all thrilled to envisage the revolutionary science to be carried out and the new applications that will start to emerge. All ESRF staff should be commended for such an achievement, attained on time and on budget in spite of the current circumstances,” says Miguel Ángel García Aranda, chair of the ESRF council.
Read more on the ESRF website
Image: Panoramic view of the ESRF. Credit: S. Candé.