SPring-8, the large synchrotron radiation facility

　A joint research group from RIKEN SPring-8 Center and JASRI has succeeded in utilizing the linear accelerator of the X-ray Free-Electron Laser (XFEL) facility SACLA as an injector for the SPring-8 storage ring, located in the same facility. As a result, the 25-year-old injector of SPring-8, which was used exclusively for beam injection, has been replaced by the SACLA linear accelerator.

　Since SACLA is in constant operation to deliver photon beams to user experiments, no extra electricity is required for the beam injection. This means that power consumption can be significantly reduced and there is no longer a need to spend funds maintaining the decrepit extra-high-voltage substation of the old injector. In addition, the quality of the injection beam was found to fully satisfy the criteria required for SPring-8-II, a future upgrade plan of SPring-8.

　SPring-8 and SACLA issued a green facility statement in August 2021. Based on this, the facilities are being used for research aimed at achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and carbon neutrality in 2050. At the same time, we are working to promote energy saving in the facility itself to create a low-carbon society.

　This is the first time in the world that an XFEL accelerator has been used as a beam injector for a storage ring. In this research, the electron beam parameters, such as beam energy, are independently controlled from pulse to pulse, allowing the XFEL operation and beam injection to be performed in parallel.

　This research will be published in the online version of the scientific journal Physical Review Accelerators and Beams (November 22: Japan time November 23).

Reference
Title of original paper: Low-emittance beam injection for a synchrotron radiation source using an x-ray free-electron laser linear accelerator
Authors: Toru Hara, Tsuyoshi Aoki, Hideki Dewa, Takahiro Fujita, Kenji Fukami, Toru Fukui, Toshihiko Hiraiwa, Naoyasu Hosoda, Takahiro Inagaki, Toshiro Itoga, Eito Iwai, Akio Kiyomichi, Chikara Kondo, Hirokazu Maesaka, Mitsuhiro Masaki, Shinichi Matsubara, Osamu Morimoto, Takashi Ohshima, Masaya Oishi, Masazumi Shoji, Kouichi Soutome, Yasuyuki Tajiri, Shiro Takano, Kazuhiro Tamura, Yukiko Taniuchi, Kazuaki Togawa, Takahiro Watanabe, Toshinori Yabuuchi and Hitoshi Tanaka
Journal: Physical Review Accelerators and Beams
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevAccelBeams.24.110702