National Synchrotron Light Source

Brookhaven National Laboratory

Upton, NY 11973

www.nsls.bnl.gov
National Synchrotron Light Source

Brookhaven National Laboratory

Upton, NY 11973

www.nsls.bnl.gov
1977

197819791980

1981

19821983198419851986198719881989

The National SynchrotronLight Source (NSLS)project starts.

Á NSLS groundbreaking

The First Users’ Meeting Ë

Ring assembly begins on the Vacuum Ultraviolet (VUV) Ring floor.

NSLS staff celebrate the first turn of beam around the VUV Ring.NSLS dedication takes place. The NSLS Division also is upgraded to a department.The first Activity Report is distributed.

Á The first x-ray absorption spectrum 

from a copper foil is taken in the X11 hutch with signatures.

Researchers from the National Bureau of Standards and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, win an R&D 100 Award for the development of a soft x-ray emission spectrometer installed at the NSLS.

An R&D 100 Award is given to a team of NSLS physicists and engineers who developed a real-time, harmonic closed-orbit feedback system.

Researchers from the NSLS and Fairleigh Dickenson 

A baby mammoth, which

has been frozen in ice for 

40,000 years, is discovered

in the Soviet Union.

Solar One, the world’s

largest solar-power

generating station, goes

into operation, generating

up to 10 megawatts.

Human growth hormone

produced by genetically

engineered bacteria is

made available for treatment of children with

growth problems.

The Human Genome project

is set up as a collaboration

Construction starts on the Linear Accelerator (Linac) to the Booster Ring.

The Linac beamreaches 70 MeV.

The first turn of beam is made around the X-Ray Ring. 

First visible light formachine testing emerges from the NSLS VUV Ring. Ë

Groundbreaking takes place for the “Phase II” construction project to expand the facility by 52,000 sq ft for new offices, laboratories, beamlines, and room for new experimental equipment.

Researchers from BNL and the University ofChicago receive an R&D 100 Award fordeveloping an x-ray microprobe/microscope.

The concept of a high-gain self-amplified spontaneous emission free electron laser is pioneered at the NSLS.

The first infrared beamline is 

Brookhaven’s Accelerator Test Facility (ATF) is started as a facility for accelerator and beam physicists, operated by the NSLS and BNL’s Center for Accelerator Physics.

NSLS engineers develop a new method for determining transverse electron beam position through radio frequency receivers, which have been widely adopted at other facilities and are the basis for a commercial product.

An R&D 100 Award is given to researchers from AT&T Bell Laboratories for the development of a highresolution soft x-ray monochromator at the NSLS.

Scientists from BNL, AT&T Bell Laboratories, 
Lisa M. Miller

Kathleen Nasta

Managing Editors

Kendra J. Snyder

Science Editor

Tiffany A. Gagnon

Stephen Giordano

Nancye Wright

Design & Layout

National Synchrotron Light Source

2007 Activity Report

The National Synchrotron Light Source Department is supported by the Office of Basic Energy Sciences,

United States Department of Energy, Washington, D.C.

Brookhaven National Laboratory, Brookhaven Science Associates, Inc., Upton, New York 11973

Under contract no. DE-AC02-98CH10886

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Table of Contents

Printed in the United States of America

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Disclaimer

This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government 

nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, nor any of their contractors, subcontractors, or their employees, makes any warranty, express 

or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or 

process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, 

or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or 

favoring by the United States Government or any agency, contractor, or subcontractor thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein 

do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency, contractor, or subcontractor thereof.

BNL-79967-2007

UC400

(General Energy Research)

"First Light"

Early synchrotron light from the NSLS Vacuum Ultraviolet 

(VUV) ring viewed at beamline U14 in 1982.

Welcome 4

Chairman's Introduction 4

A Beacon for Research 6

A New Light on the Horizon 8

Science Highlights 10

Physical and Chemical Sciences Introduction 10

Condensed Matter Physics 12

Materials Science 18

Chemical Sciences 24

X-Ray Optics and Accelerator Physics 30

Life and Environmental Sciences Introduction 34

Earth and Environmental Sciences 36

Life Sciences 46

Soft Condensed Matter and Biophysics 54

Year in Review 60

January - April 62

May - August 64

September - December 66

Facility Report 68

Safety 68

The Accelerator Complex 70

Experimental Systems 76

Facility Facts and Figures 82

Introduction 82

Machine Parameters 84

2007 Publications 84

User Statistics 85

Beamline Guide 86

Advisory Committees 92


Chairman’s Introduction

Twenty-five years after its dedication, the NSLS continues 

to shine. This year, we celebrated our silver anniversary and 

a history that can teach us many lessons: resourcefulness in 

the face of a tight budget, ingenuity when things don’t turn 

out as planned, and most importantly, a strong commitment to scientific and technical excellence. The tumultuous 

start to the NSLS eventually gave way to what we have today – one of the world’s most productive and cost-effective 

user facilities. With 2,219 individual users, about 100 more 

than last year, and a record-high 985 publications, 2007 

was no exception.

In addition to producing an impressive array of science 

highlights, which are included in this Activity Report, many 

NSLS users were honored this year for their scientific accomplishments. These include: the University of Colorado, 

Boulder’s Noel Clark and Brandeis University’s Chris Miller, 

who were among 72 new members elected to the National Academy of Sciences; Cold Spring Harbor researcher 

Leemor Joshua-Tor, who won the 2007 Dorothy Crowfoot 

Hodgkin Award; and Yale biophysicist Thomas Steitz, who 

shared one of the five 2007 Gairdner International Awards.

Throughout the year, we made major strides in the development of our scientific programs by strengthening strategic partnerships with major research resources and with 

the Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN). Of particular note, the Consortium for Materials Properties Research 

in Earth Sciences (COMPRES) received renewed funding for 

the next five years through the National Science Foundation. COMPRES operates four high-pressure NSLS beamlines 

– X17B2, X17B3, X17C, and U2A – and serves the earth science community as well as the rapidly expanding segment 

of researchers using high-pressure techniques in materials, 

chemical, and energy-related sciences. A joint appointment 

was made between the NSLS and Stony Brook University to 

further enhance our interactions with COMPRES.

We’ve also made major progress on two key beamline projects outlined in the Five-Year Strategic Plan: the X25 beamline upgrade and the construction of the X9 small angle 

scattering (SAXS) beamline. The X25 overhaul, which began 

with the installation of the in-vacuum mini-gap undulator 

(MGU) in January 2006, is now complete. X25 is once again 

the brightest beamline for macromolecular crystallography at the NSLS, and in tandem with the X29 undulator 

beamline, it will keep the NSLS at the cutting edge in this 

important area of research. Upgrade work associated with 

the new MGU and the front end for the X9 SAXS beamline 

– jointly developed by the NSLS and the CFN – also was 

completed. Beamline X9 will host the SAXS program that 

currently exists at beamline X21 and will provide new microbeam SAXS capabilities and much-needed beam time 

for the life sciences, soft condensed matter physics, and 

nanoscience communities.

Looking toward the future, we have made a significant 

step in expanding the user base and diversifying our work 

force by holding the first Historically Black Colleges and 

Universities (HBCU) Professors’ Workshop. The workshop, 

which brought 11 professors to the NSLS to learn how to 

become successful synchrotron users, concluded with the 

formation of an HBCU User Consortium. I look forward to 

welcoming the return of these professors to the NSLS with 

their students and colleagues to conduct experiments and 

take advantage the connections they’ve made.

Finally, we have made significant contributions in optics 

and detector development to enhance the utilization of 

the NSLS and address the challenges of NSLS-II. In particular, x-ray detectors developed by the NSLS Detector Section 

have been adopted by an increasing number of research 

programs both at the NSLS and at light sources around the 

world, speeding up measurement times by orders of magnitude and making completely new experiments feasible. 

Significant advances in focusing and high-energy resolution optics have also been made this year. These developments are a clear demonstration of the ingenuity of the 

NSLS staff, and it is this long tradition of innovation that 

underlies the continued success of our facility. 

Chi-Chang Kao

Chairman, National Synchrotron Light Source

“The NSLS is one of the 

most widely used and

p ro d u c t i ve s c i e n t i f i c

facilities in the world.”

 
A Beacon for Research



Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Basic 

Energy Sciences, the National Synchrotron Light Source 

(NSLS) is a national user facility that operates two electron 

storage rings: x-ray (2.8 GeV, 300 mA) and vacuum ultravio-

let (VUV) (800 mev, 1.0A). These two rings provide intense 

light spanning the electromagnetic spectrum — from very 

long infrared rays to ultraviolet light and super-short x-rays 

— to analyze very small or highly dilute samples. The prop-

erties of this light, and the specially designed experimental 

stations, called beamlines, allow scientists in many diverse 

disciplines of research to perform experiments not possible 

at their own laboratories.

Each year, more than 2,200 scientists from more than 400 

universities and companies use the NSLS for research in 

such diverse fields as biology, physics, chemistry, geol-

ogy, medicine, and environmental and materials sciences. 

For example, researchers have used the NSLS to examine 

the minute details of computer chips, decipher the struc-

tures of viruses, probe the density of bone, determine the 

chemical composition of moon rocks, and reveal countless 

other mysteries of science. The facility has 65 operating 

beamlines, with 51 beamlines on the X-Ray Ring and 14 

beamlines on the VUV-IR Ring. It runs seven days a week, 

24 hours a day throughout the year, except during periods 

of maintenance and studies. Researchers are not charged 

for beam time, provided that the research results are pub-

lished in open literature. Proprietary research is conducted 

on a full-cost-recovery basis. 

With close to 1,000 publications per year, the NSLS is one of 

the most prolific scientific facilities in the world. Among the 

many accolades given to its users and staff, the NSLS has 

won nine R&D 100 Awards for innovations ranging from a 

closed orbit feedback system to the first device able to fo-

cus a large spread of high-energy x-rays. In addition, a visit-

ing NSLS researcher shared the 2003 Nobel Prize in Chem-

istry for work explaining how one class of proteins helps to 

generate nerve impulses.




Since its first operations in 1982, the NSLS has continually 

updated its technology and expanded its scientific capabili-

ties. However, as the boundaries of scientific discovery have 

been expanded, many researchers are looking for capabilities 

beyond those provided by the NSLS. And while newer syn-

chrotrons surpass the performance of the present NSLS, no 

synchrotron anywhere in the world will enable scientists to 

image and characterize materials down to billionth-of-a-me-

ter (nanometer) resolution.

To address this need, Brookhaven is building ¬the National 

Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II). The new facility, which 

will replace the NSLS, will be a medium-energy storage ring 

designed to deliver world-leading brightness and flux. It will 

provide advanced tools for discovery-class science in con-

densed matter and materials physics, chemistry, and biology. 

For example, major advances in energy technologies – such 

as the use of hydrogen as an energy carrier; the widespread, 

economical uses of solar energy; or the development of the 

next generation of nuclear power systems – will require sci-

entific breakthroughs in developing new materials with ad-

vanced properties.

The combination of capabilities at NSLS-II will have broad im-

pact on a wide range of disciplines and scientific initiatives in 

the coming decades, including new studies of small crystals 

in structural biology, the development of probes for nanosci-

ence, coherent imaging of the structure and dynamics of dis-

ordered materials, greatly increased applicability of inelastic 

x-ray scattering, and properties of materials under extreme 

conditions. This high-brightness light source will also foster 

research in areas such as structural genomics and drug de-

sign as well as extend the studies of early disease detection.

The leading-edge ability of NSLS-II to analyze materials will 

help guide the development of new materials at Brookhaven’s 

Center for Functional Nanomaterials. The synergy of these 

two facilities is expected to lead to breakthroughs in the use 

of renewable energy through improved energy conversion, 

transmission, and storage – science that ultimately will en-

hance national and energy security and help drive abundant, 

safe, and clean energy technologies.

A New Light on the Horizon
11

Science Highlights

In 2007, NSLS users and staff began to combine synchrotron techniques with the characterization and fabrication 

facilities available at nanoscience research centers, such as 

Brookhaven’s Center for Functional Nanomaterials, to explore novel catalytic materials and nanoscale assemblies 

important for applications ranging from electronic devices 

to more efficient energy conversion and storage. There were 

also new insights on problems that have puzzled scientists 

for decades, including the nature of high-temperature (Tc) 

superconductivity. Key discoveries are listed below and described more fully in the science highlights that follow.

In the field of condensed matter physics, there were research advances in high-Tc superconductors, magnetic 

interface ferromagnetism, and semiconductor electron 

quantization. Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy 

(ARPES) measurements revealed a second kink in the energy band of a high-Tc superconductor at an energy that 

could only be associated with spin fluctuations. This result 

demonstrated the important role that spin fluctuations play 

in this phenomenon. ARPES measurements also led to the 

discovery of a quantized electron accumulation layer near 

the surface of the semiconductor indium nitride. Usually, 

quantized states are only observed in engineered materials or electronic devices. Finally, a combination of soft x-ray 

reflectometry and magnetometry experiments measured 

the depth of the magnetization across an antiferromagnetic-ferromagnetic interface, providing new information 

on the origin of exchange bias – an effect used in spintronic 

devices.

In the materials science realm, NSLS research focused on 

nanotube assemblies and nano-patterned films. Temperature-dependent x-ray diffraction measurements demonstrated that phase-change materials maintain their bulk 

properties when solution-processed into thin films or 

nanodots. This result was important for the incorporation 

of these materials in phase-change random access memory 

devices. Small-angle x-ray scattering was applied to determine the height and spatial distribution of the diameters of 

multiwall carbon nanotubes (CNTs) assembled perpendicular to a substrate in a dense forest. These densely packed 

CNT arrays show promise for nanoelectronics, superhydrophobic films, and power applications. A third important 

advance involved introducing cavities into nanorods of 

titanium oxide, making them 25 percent more efficient in 

absorbing ultraviolet radiation. This has applications in solar light conversion, sunscreens, and hydrogen storage.

In the area of chemical sciences, catalysis was the dominant research theme and x-ray absorption spectroscopy 

(XAS) was the primary technique. Using XAS, researchers 

demonstrated that applying gold clusters to the surface of 

platinum nanoparticles substantially improved their stability, maintaining their effectiveness as a catalyst in hydrogen fuel cells. XAS and electron diffraction were also used 

to demonstrate how local disorder and orbital symmetry 

could be tailored to produce a high-dielectric constant 

material, CCTO, crucial for the production of the ultra-small 

capacitors needed as electronic circuits continue to shrink 

in size. A third XAS measurement, combined with first principles calculations, elucidated the role of titanium (Ti) as a 

catalyst in the reversible hydrogen cycle of sodium aluminum hydride. The Ti was found to be coordinated by more 

than 10 aluminum (Al) atoms and localized at or near the 

surface, rather than in interstitial or substitutional sites. The 

study also explained the high Al mobility observed in the 

complex metal halides.

In x-ray optics, it was demonstrated, by focusing x-rays 

beyond the critical angle, that there are no fundamental 

limits for using refractive optics to focus x-rays to nanometer-sized spots. And in accelerator physics, researchers 

succeeded in producing ultra-fast pulses of terahertz radiation that were sufficiently intense to introduce non-linear 

optical effects. These ultra-fast pulses can be used to study 

molecular processes.

10

Ron Pindak

Physical and Chemical Sciences Division Head

“In 2007, NSLS users and 

staff began to combine 

synchrotron techniques 

with the characterization 

and fabrication facilities

available at nanoscience

re s e a rc h c e n t e rs fo r

fundamental studies that 

could impact applications

from improved electronic 

devices to more efficient 

energy conversion and 

storage.”

Physical and Chemical Sciences Introduction
12 13

Illuminating a Second “Kink”

in High-Tc Superconductors

There’s another kink in the mystery of high-temperature 

(Tc) superconductors – literally. Using photoemission studies at the NSLS, a group of researchers has revealed a new 

anomaly, or “kink,” in the energy spectrum of high-energy 

electrons in two different families of cuprate superconductors, further complicating their quest to discover exactly 

how the materials conduct electricity with zero resistance

In 1999, a group of researchers led by BNL physicist Tonica 

Valla discovered a low-energy kink in the energy bands 

of electrons in high-Tc superconductors just as they went 

through the transition temperature from their normal to 

superconducting state. This spectral abnormality is thought 

to be signature of an interaction or “coupling” between an 

electron and an excitation such as a phonon, which is a vibration of the ions that form the lattice of a superconductor’s crystal. 

“In conventional low-temperature superconductors, this is 

really the interaction that causes superconductivity,” Valla 

said. “And there was a hope that when we saw a similar 

kink in high-temperature superconductors that maybe the 

mechanism of superconductivity would be resolved. But 

it’s not that easy.”

While some groups hold that the mechanism is the same 

as in conventional superconductors — that is, that phonons are responsible for electron pairing – other scientists 

believe that changes in the spin alignment, or magnetic 

polarity (magnons), of adjacent electrons are responsible. 

However, because both excitations are found in the energy 

range of the low-energy kink – between 40 and 70 meV 

– it’s difficult to determine which mechanism is correct.

And recently, Valla’s group has thrown another complication into the mix, unveiling a second and much larger kink 

in the high-Tc superconductor “LBCO” (named for the elements it contains: lanthanum, barium, copper, and oxygen) 

and “BSCCO” (containing bismuth, strontium, calcium, copper, and oxygen). Using high-resolution spectrometers at 

NSLS beamline U13UB, Valla’s group measured the energy 

and the angle at which the electrons were emitted from 

the superconducting crystals, allowing them to reconstruct 

the original electrons’ state. This time around, the research 

team found a large anomaly in the energy spectrum of the 

materials at 350 meV, the details of which are published in 

the April 20 edition of Physical Review Letters. 

Science Highlights

Condensed Matter Physics

“Big kink” (left) vs. “small kink” (right). a) OP91 BSCCO (T=10K). b) Brillouin zone (BZ) and Fermi surface (FS) for BSCCO (solid 

line) and LBCO (dashed line). Straight lines represent the momentum lines probed in the spectra with correspondingly colored 

dispersion. c) and d) LBCO spectra at x=0.125 for two different momentum lines as indicated in b). e) ARPES intensity from 

the nodal line in superconducting state in optimally doped BSCCO. The velocity or rate of dispersion changes in the vicinity 

of the Fermi level, resulting in a “kink” in dispersion at ~60 meV bellow the Fermi level. “Small kink” image from “Evidence for 

Quantum Critical Behavior in the Optimally Doped Cuprate Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ,” T. Valla, A. V. Fedorov, P. D. Johnson, B. O. Wells, 

Q. Li, G. D. Gu, and N. Koshizuka, Science 285, 2110 (1999).

Tonica Valla

“It was a piece of cake to see because it’s so huge, but you 

have to look deep enough,” Valla said, adding that the 

lower energy kink makes just a small contribution to the 

total kink. “Now, the question is, ‘What’s the cause of this 

big one?’”

Because they only exist at lower energies, the researchers immediately ruled out phonons as a possible culprit. 

In fact, Valla’s group now believes that both the large and 

small kinks are caused by something different: spin fluctuations. This excitation occurs when the spin of one atom is 

changed, causing a domino effect as its neighbors flip in 

order to get back into the proper alignment, whether it's 

ferromagnetic (spins pointing in the same direction) or 

antiferromagnetic (spins pointing in opposite directions). 

Spin fluctuations occur at up to 400 meV, and they appear 

to die out when a material’s superconductivity disappears, 

providing a further link for their involvement in the mechanism of high-Tc superconductors.

“For conventional superconductors, it is clear that the observation of a kink is related to superconductivity,” Valla 

said. “In high-Tcs we are seeing kinks all over the place and 

some of them might also be closely related to superconductivity. Maybe the low-energy kink is the only important 

one, but it also might be that the total interaction at higher 

energies is important as well.” 

Valla said that future studies will extend to other materials 

to verify that the high-energy kink is present in all high-Tc 

cuprate superconductors and to further investigate the role 

of spin fluctuations in the system. 

Other researchers involved in the work include: Tim Kidd 

(BNL and the University of Northern Iowa); Weiguo Yin, 

Genda Gu, and Peter Johnson (BNL); and Zhihui Pan and 

Alexei Fedorov (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory). 

Their work was supported by the Office of Basic Energy Sciences within the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science. 

T. Valla, T. Kidd, W. Yin, G. Gu, P. Johnson, Z. Pan, A. Fedorov, “High-Energy Kink in the Electron Dispersion of High Temperature Cuprate Superconductors,” Phys. Rev. Lett., 98: 167003 (2007).
14 15

Studying Magnetic

Interface Ferromagnetism

The development of various magnetic-based devices, such 

as read-heads found inside your computer, depends on the 

discovery and improvement of new materials and magnetic effects. In particular, researchers are interested in the 

magnetic behavior at the interfaces between different materials, especially in devices presenting so-called “exchange 

bias” – an effect produced by combining ferromagnetic 

and antiferromagnetic materials. Because these materials 

sometimes have very small magnetizations, characterizing 

them at atomic- and nanometer-length scales isn’t easy. 

However, using soft x-ray resonant magnetic scattering at 

the NSLS, a group of researchers has found a way to investigate how magnetism varies with the depth of a thin layer 

of material, specifically at the interface.

Many state-of-the-art materials and devices for magnetic 

reading and writing rely on the interplay between magnetic properties. This is especially true for quantum mechanical spins, the origin of the atoms’ magnetic behavior. In a 

ferromagnet, the atoms’ magnetic moments are aligned in 

parallel, whereas in an antiferromagnet, the moments are 

antiparallel. The coupling between an antiferromagnetic 

and a ferromagnetic material may give rise to exchange 

bias, which locks the ferromagnet spins (a major contributor to the magnetic moment). This effect is of fundamental 

importance to modern magnetic devices since it forms a 

reference layer with a fixed direction of magnetization. 

However, there are still ongoing controversies about the 

microscopic origin of exchange bias. Previous studies have 

revealed the existence of “unpinned spins” (spins in one 

direction not matched by an opposite spin and responding to applied field) at the antiferromagnetic interface. To 

examine how these spins are distributed and how they interact with the ferromagnetic spins across the interface, the 

researchers determined the depth dependence of the net 

magnetization in an exchange-biased sample consisting of 

permalloy, a nickel iron magnetic alloy (the ferromagnet), 

and cobalt oxide (the antiferomagnet). This was done at 

room temperature, where no “pinned” spins exist in the antiferromagnet and the exchange bias does not occur.

“Not many instruments can do this,” said lead researcher 

Sujoy Roy, from the University of California, San Diego. “You 

can use microscopes to look at the surface of a material, but 

we wanted to scan the films from top to bottom, especially 

the interface.”

Science Highlights

Condensed Matter Physics

Depth-dependent magnetic density profile in absolute units 

in a Py/CoO bilayer system. Green solid lines represent structural/chemical interfaces. The inset shows the Py/CoO interface region where the structural and magnetic features are 

modified. Solid blue and dashed-dot red curves represent 

the individual Py and CoO contribution to the net magnetization. The hatched area within violet dashed lines represents 

the magnetic interface between Py and CoO.

Room temperature hysteresis measurements for same thickness of Py deposited on Si (blue) and CoO/Si (black dashed). 

Red lines indicate the magnetization value at the positive and 

negative saturation for Py/Si and Py/CoO/Si, respectively.

Sujoy Roy Cecilia Sánchez-Hanke

To do this, the researchers used x-ray reflectometry at NSLS 

beamline X13A and magnetometry at University of California, San Diego. These techniques allowed them to determine the distributions of free spins and of spin orientation, 

providing an atomic-level picture of the exchange bias 

mechanism.

“This was a very unique method,” Roy said. “We have been 

able to pinpoint exactly how the magnetism is varying as a 

function of depth in absolute units.”

The team found that a region at the permalloy/cobalt oxide interface is modified both chemically and magnetically. 

This modification is due to the formation of an oxide layer 

containing both cobalt and permalloy in between the bilayer. While there is no significant magnetization in the cobalt oxide, the temperature dependence of the interfacial 

layer’s net magnetization is different than the permalloy. 

Their results were published in the January 31, 2007 edition 

of Physical Review B.

The magnetization in this interfacial region, and how it interacts with the antiferromagnetic spins in the cobalt oxide 

at low temperatures, is expected to play a key role in determining the exchange bias properties of this bilayer. Future 

work will repeat the experiment at lower temperatures, 

where exchange bias develops in the sample, in order to 

determine how the interface properties change. 

Other researchers include: Cecilia Sánchez-Hanke and ChiChang Kao (NSLS); Sungkyun Park (Los Alamos National 

Laboratory and Korea Basic Science Institute); Mike Fitzsimmons (Los Alamos National Laboratory); Sunil Sinha (University of California, San Diego, and Los Alamos National 

Laboratory); Y. Tang, Jung-Il Hong, Xuerong Liu, M. Brian 

Maple, and Ami Berkowitz (University of California, San Diego); and David Smith (Arizona State University).

This research was supported by the Office of Basic Energy 

Sciences within the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of 

Science.

S. Roy, C. Sanchez-Hanke, S. Park, M. Fitzsimmons, Y. Tang, J. Hong, D. 

Smith, B. Taylor, X. Liu, et al., “Evidence of Modified Ferromagnetism at 

a Buried Permalloy/CoO Interface at Room Temperature,” Phys. Rev. B,

75: 014442 (2007).
16 17

Unveiling Electronic Properties

Near a Semiconductor Surface

are found to be quantized perpendicular to the surface, i.e. 

the electrons in the accumulation layer have been determined to reside in quantum well states. 

Their results, which were published in the December 4, 

2006 edition of Physical Review Letters, are the first unambiguous observation that electrons in the InN accumulation 

layer are quantized, and the first time the Fermi surface associated with such states has been measured. 

Researchers involved in the study included: Leyla Colakerol, 

Hae-Kyung Jeong, Lukasz Plucinski, Alex DeMasi, Timothy Learmonth, Per-Anders Glans, Shancai Wang, Yufeng 

Zhang, Kevin Smith, Tai-Chou Chen, and T. D. Moustakas 

(Boston University); T.D. Veal, L.F.J. Piper, P.H. Jefferson, and 

C.F. McConville (University of Warwick); and Alexei Fedorov 

(Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory).

Funding was provided by the National Science Foundation, 

Army Research Office, and the Air Force Office of Scientific 

Research.

L. Colakerol, T. Veal, H. Jeong, L. Plucinski, A. DeMasi, T. Learmonth, 

P. Glans, S. Wang, Y. Zhang, et al., “Quantized Electron Accumulation 

States in Indium Nitride Studied by Angle-Resolved Photoemission 

Spectroscopy,” Phys. Rev. Lett., 97: 237601 (2006).

Science Highlights

Condensed Matter Physics

Electrons near the surface of semiconducting indium nitride have been shown to exist in “quantum well” states, 

which are remarkably simple fundamental energy states. It 

is highly unusual to observe such states in ordinary materials; usually they are observed only in engineered materials 

or electronic devices. Recently, a team of researchers from 

Boston University, the University of Warwick, and the Advanced Light Source discovered the quantum well states 

by irradiation of indium nitride with intense x-rays, which 

caused the electrons in these states to be ejected from the 

material into vacuum, where their energy and momentum 

was measured. This technique, known as photoemission 

spectroscopy, allowed them to make the first definitive determination of these properties.

Using angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy at the 

Advanced Light Source and NSLS beamline U5UA, the 

researchers directly observed a quantized electron accumulation layer near the surface of the narrow gap semiconductor indium nitride (InN). Electron accumulation is a 

phenomenon observed in certain semiconductors whereby 

a higher density of electrons is observed in a layer near the 

surface of the solid. It is postulated that the surface region 

in InN has a higher charge density than the bulk due to N 

vacancies or donor-type surface states. This causes the surface Fermi level to lie in the conduction band. The research 

team discovered that not only are electrons observed far 

above the conduction band minimum, but these electrons 

ARPES photocurrent intensity map of states within 1.5 eV of 

EF. hν = 69 eV, and the sample temperature was 177 K. The 

sample was annealed to 300 °C in UHV for 30 minutes. The 

false color intensity reflects the photocurrent, with lighter 

intensity indicating higher current. The momentum direction 

is along ΓΣM, in the surface plane.

Fermi surface and constant binding energy contours. The 

photocurrent is plotted as kx and ky are varied, while the 

binding energy relative to EF is kept constant at 0 eV (Fermi 

surface), 0.2 eV, 0.5 eV and 0.7 eV. hν = 70 eV, and sample 

temperature was 60 K. The diameter of the outer Fermi surface is 0.4 Å-1.

From left, Yufeng 

Zhang, Leyla Colakerol, Shancai Wang, 

Lukasz Plucinski, Tim 

Learmonth, Sarah 

Bernardis, and Kevin 

Smith.
18 19

Solution-Based Approach for

Phase-Change Material Deposition

thesis of soluble precursors, which can be combined to 

tune the composition and properties of the final material. 

Spin-on GeSbSe films show a tuneable crystallization temperature in the range of 200–250 °C and a minimum crystallization time of the order of 100 nanoseconds for meltquenched material. 

Their results, which were published in the April 8, 2007 edition of Nature Materials, are a promising indication that this 

process is capable of yielding materials of practical use for 

phase-change data storage. Solution deposition also enables facile filling of high-aspect-ratio vias, offering a potential advantage in device fabrication over conventional 

sputter-deposition methods. Next, the researchers plan to 

integrate spin-on materials into prototype PCRAM devices 

and to explore new applications for spin-on metal chalcogenide materials.

Researchers involved in the work include Delia Milliron, 

Simone Raoux, and Robert Shelby (IBM Almaden Research 

Center), and Jean Jordan-Sweet (IBM Watson Research Center).

D. Milliron, S. Raoux, R. Shelby, J. Jordan-Sweet, “Solution-Phase Deposition and Nanopattering of GeSbSe Phase-Change Materials,” Nat. Mater., 6: 352-356 (2007).

Science Highlights

Materials Science

Chalcogenide films with reversible amorphous-crystalline 

phase transitions have been commercialized as optically 

rewritable discs, and intensive effort is now focused on 

integrating them into electrically addressed nonvolatile 

memory devices (phase change random access memory, 

or PCRAM). While optical data storage is accomplished 

by laser-induced heating of local spots within continuous 

films, electronic memory requires integration of discrete 

nanoscale phase-change material features with read/write 

electronics. Currently, phase-change films are most commonly deposited by sputter deposition, and patterned by 

conventional lithography. However, at the NSLS, a team of 

IBM researchers is exploring an alternative, solution-phase 

deposition method for metal chalcogenide phase-change 

materials. 

Solution processing of phase-change material is not only a 

low-cost, simple alternative to sputter deposition – it also 

offers potential advantages for patterning and eventual 

fabrication of PCRAM devices. In their study, the IBM researchers looked at solution processing of GeSbSe, a wellknown phase change material.

Using characterization techniques at NSLS beamline X20C, 

the researchers demonstrated a versatile, solution-based, 

low-temperature approach made on the basis of the syn25

30

35

2Θ (degrees)

Ge2.4(Sb1Se1.8)

97.6

25

30

35

2Θ (degrees)

Ge6.6(Sb1Se1.9)

93.4

28

32

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40

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Ge1Se1.4

Temperature (°C)

100 200 300 400

b

c

d

25

30

35

2Θ (degrees)

Sb1Se1.7

increasing

Ge content

a

Thermal crystallization of GeSbSe films followed by temperature-dependent x-ray diffraction.

Nanopatterns of GeSbSe phase-change material formed using a block copolymer template.

a b

d Film

Nanodots

2Θ (degrees)

20 30 40 50

Intensity (a.u.)

c

50 nm 50 nm

500 nm

b

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20 30 40 50

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50 nm

m

a b

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20 30 40 50

Intensity (a.u.)

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50 nm 50 nm

500 nm

b

d Film

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2Θ (degrees)

20 30 40 50

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50 nm

b

d Film

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20 30 40 50

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m 50 nm

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a b

d Film

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20 30 40 50

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20 30 40 50

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m 50 nm

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20 21

Using SAXS to Investigate

Multiwall Carbon Nanotube Films

In order to provide insights into the fundamental mechanisms of the CNT growth process, the researchers are conducting systematic studies of the morphologies of the CNT 

forests as a function of variations in the growth conditions. 

Developing a complete understanding of this process is 

critical for enabling materials’ structures and properties 

to be optimized and customized for specific applications. 

SAXS provides rich morphological information that is not 

accessible through conventional microscopy techniques. 

This type of analysis can easily be applied to single-wall 

CNTs, zinc oxide nanowires, and a variety of other similar 

systems.

The group’s results were published in the March 30, 2007 

and the August 2, 2007 editions of the Journal of Physical 

Chemistry C. Researchers include Eric Verploegen, Benjamin 

Wang, Ryan Bennett, Anastasios Hart, and Robert Cohen, all 

of MIT. 

Funding was provided by the National Science Foundation, 

MIT’s Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies, the Fannie 

and John Hertz Foundation, and DURINT on Microstructure, 

Processing and Mechanical Performance of Polymer Nanocomposites.

B. Wang, R. Bennett, E. Verploegen, A. Hart, R. Cohen, “Quantitative Characterization of the Morphology of Multiwall Carbon Nanotube Films by 

Small-Angle X-ray Scattering,” J. Phys. Chem. C, 111 (16): 5859 (2007).

B. Wang, R. Bennett, E. Verploegen, A. Hart, R. Cohen “Characterizing the 

Morphologies of Mechanically Manipulated Multiwall Carbon Nanotube Films by Small-Angle X-ray Scattering,” J. Phys. Chem. C, 111 (48): 

17933 -17940 (2007).

Science Highlights

Materials Science

Anastasios Hart Eric Verploegen

(left) Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) image of a vertically aligned multiwall carbon nanotube forest. Inset: transmission electron microscopy image of a single multiwall carbon nanotube. Small angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) provides 

quantitative characterization of the alignment, where only 

qualitative assessments of orientation can be made with 

SEM. SAXS measurements yield a “locally averaged” measurement of the CNT diameter, where TEM requires imaging 

of individual nanotubes.

(below) Schematic of the experimental setup for small-angle xray scattering of multiwall carbon 

nanotube forests. A motorized 

stage provides spatial resolution 

allowing for the morphology to be 

investigated as a function of position within the film.

At the NSLS, a team of researchers from the Massachusetts 

Institute of Technology showed that small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) is a powerful tool for investigating the morphologies of multiwall carbon nanotube (CNT) films. CNT 

films have attracted significant interest from the engineering community because of their remarkable thermal, electrical, and mechanical properties, and because they show 

promise for use in nanoelectronics, energy-absorbing 

foams, superhydrophobic films, and power applications. 

The team demonstrated the utility of SAXS for quantitative 

structural analysis of CNT films, indicating the potential to 

reveal new information about the CNT growth process, and 

relating variations in morphology to evolution of the catalyst and reaction conditions.

Multiwall CNT films can be grown by thermal chemical vapor deposition, resulting in films that range from vertically 

aligned to entangled and tortuous. The extent of CNT alignment can only be assessed qualitatively using scanning 

electron microscopy, but using NSLS beamline X27C, the 

researchers showed that it could be characterized quantitatively in various regions of the CNT film by examining the 

relative SAXS intensities as a function of azimuthal angle. 

Additionally, by fitting the SAXS data to a cylindrical form 

factor model, the average CNT diameter, and an estimate 

of the standard deviation, can be determined. The diameters determined through SAXS correspond well to highresolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) data. 

SAXS provides the advantage of sampling millions of CNTs 

in a single image, and also provides spatial resolution not 

accessible through HRTEM. The ability to characterize the 

CNTs as a function of position within the film allowed the 

researchers to observe a systematic increase in the diameter as a function of height from the substrate as well as 

smaller diameter CNTs near the edge, relative to the center 

of the film. 
22 23

Tiny Tubes and Rods Show Promise

as Catalysts, Sunscreen

The cavity-filled nanorods could also improve the efficiency 

of photovoltaic solar cells and be used as catalysts for splitting water and also in the water-gas-shift reaction to produce pure hydrogen gas from carbon monoxide and water.

In the second paper, Han and his collaborators describe a 

new synthesis method to make iron-doped titanate nanotubes, hollow tubes measuring approximately 10 nanometers in diameter and up to one micrometer (one millionth of 

a meter) long. The scientists demonstrated that the resulting nanotubes exhibited noticeable reactivity in the watergas-shift reaction. 

“Although the activity of the iron-doped nanotubes was 

not as good as that of titanium oxide loaded with metals 

such as platinum and palladium, the activity we observed 

is still remarkable considering that iron is a much less expensive metal and its concentration in our samples was less 

than one percent,” Han said.

Materials developed in these studies were analyzed using 

transmission electron microscopy and various x-ray and infrared techniques at NSLS beamlines X7B and U2A.

This research, which has clear connections to improved energy technologies, was funded by the Office of Basic Energy 

Sciences within the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of 

Science.

Collaborators on the Advanced Materials paper include Lijun Wu, Robert F. Klie, and Yimei Zhu, all of Brookhaven’s 

CFN. For the Journal of Physical Chemistry paper, collaborators include Brookhaven chemists Wen Wen and Jonathan 

Hanson; Ding Yi, Mathew Maye, and Oleg Gang of the CFN; 

Zhenxian Liu of the Carnegie Institution of Washington; 

and Laura Lewis, formerly at the CFN and now at Northeastern University.

W. Han , W. Wen , Y. Ding, Z. Liu, M. Maye, L. Lewis, J. Hanson, O. Gang, “FeDoped Trititanate Nanotubes: Formation, Optical and Magnetic Properties, and Catalytic Applications,” J. Phys. Chem. C, 111: 14339 (2007).

W. Han, L. Wu, R. Klie, Y. Zhu, “Enhanced Optical Absorption Induced by 

Dense Nanocavities Inside Titania Nanorods,” Advanced Materials, 19: 

2525-2529 (2007).

Science Highlights

Materials Science

Authors, (sitting) Wei-Qiang Han, (standing, from left) Lijun 

Wu, Zhenxian Liu, Yimei Zhu, and Wen Wen

Transmission electron micrographs of nanocavity-filled titanate nanorods (bottom) and iron-doped titanium oxide 

nanotubes (top). Both are being investigated as photocatalysts for reactions to produce hydrogen gas. The improved 

light-absorption of the nanocavity-filled nanorods also 

makes them ideal new materials for sunscreen.

Scientists at Brookhaven have developed new ways to 

make or modify nanorods and nanotubes of titanium oxide, 

a material used in a variety of industrial and medical applications. The methods and new titanium oxide materials 

may lead to improved catalysts for hydrogen production, 

more efficient solar cells, and more protective sunscreens. 

The research is published in two papers, one in Advanced 

Materials (published August 22, 2007), and the other in the 

Journal of Physical Chemistry C (September 8, 2007). 

In the first study, the scientists enhanced the ability of titanium oxide to absorb light. 

“Titanium dioxide’s ability to absorb light is one the main 

reasons it is so useful in industrial and medical applications,” said Wei-Qiang Han, a scientist at Brookhaven’s Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN) and lead author on 

both papers. 

It is used as a photocatalyst for converting sunlight to electricity in solar cells and also has applications in the production of hydrogen, in gas sensors, in batteries, and in using 

sunlight to degrade some environmental contaminants. It 

is also a common ingredient in sunscreen.

Many scientists have explored ways to improve the lightabsorbing capability of titanium oxide, for example, by 

“doping” the material with added metals. Han and his 

coworkers took a new approach. They enhanced the material’s light-absorption capability by simply introducing 

nanocavities, completely enclosed pockets measuring billionths of a meter within the 100-nanometer-diameter solid 

titanium oxide rods. 

The resulting nanocavity-filled titanium oxide nanorods 

were 25 percent more efficient at absorbing certain wavelengths of ultraviolet A (UVA) and ultraviolet B (UVB) solar 

radiation than titanium oxide without nanocavities.

“Our research demonstrates that titanium oxide nanorods 

with nanocavities can dramatically improve the absorption 

of UVA and UVB solar radiation, and thus are ideal new materials for sunscreen,” Han said.
24 25

Using Gold Clusters to Stabilize

Platinum Electrocatalysts for Fuel Cells

reduced by gaining electrons, and in reaction with hydrogen ions, water, the only byproduct of a fuel cell reaction, 

is produced.

In the unique method developed at Brookhaven, the researchers displaced a single layer of copper with gold on 

carbon-supported platinum nanoparticles. After being subjected to several sweeps of 1.2 volts, the gold monolayer 

transformed into three-dimensional clusters. Using x-rays 

as probes at NSLS beamlines X11B, X18B, and X19A, a scanning transmission microscope at the CFN, and electrochemical techniques in the laboratory, the scientists were able to 

verify the reduced oxidation of platinum and to determine 

the structure of the resulting platinum electrocatalyst with 

gold clusters, which helped them to gain an understanding 

of the effects of the gold clusters.

In the Brookhaven experiment, the platinum electrocatalyst 

remained stable with potential cycling between 0.6 and 1.1 

volts in over 30,000 oxidation-reduction cycles, imitating 

the conditions of stop-and-go driving.

“The gold clusters protected the platinum from being oxidized,” Adzic said. “Our team’s research raises promising 

possibilities for synthesizing improved platinum-based 

catalysts and for stabilizing platinum and platinum-group 

metals under cycling oxidation/reduction conditions.”

This research is funded through the U.S. Department of 

Energy’s Hydrogen Program, which implements the President’s Hydrogen Fuel Initiative, a five-year program that 

began in 2003 to sponsor research, development, and demonstration of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. Specifically, the funding derived from DOE’s Office of Basic Energy 

Sciences and its Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable 

Energy. 

J. Zhang, K. Sasaki, E. Sutter, R. Adzic, “Stabilization of Platinum Oxygen-Reduction Electrocatalysts Using Gold Clusters,” Science, 315: 220 

(2007).

Science Highlights

Chemical Sciences

The electron micrographs of a Au/Pt/C catalyst made by displacement of a Cu monolayer by Au. High-resolution images show atomic 

rows with spacings that are consistent with the Pt(111) single-crystal 

structure. A different structure in the areas indicated by the arrows is 

ascribed to the Au clusters.

Clockwise, researchers Kotaro 

Sasaki, Junliang Zhang, Eli Sutter, and Radoslav Adzic view 

gold clusters on a single-crystal 

platinum surface using a scanning tunneling microscope. Platinum is the most efficient electrocatalyst for accelerating chemical reactions in fuel cells for electric vehicles. In 

reactions during the stop-and-go driving of an electric car, 

however, the platinum dissolves, which reduces its efficiency as a catalyst. This is a major impediment for vehicle-application of fuel cells. 

Now, Brookhaven scientists have overcome this problem. 

Under lab conditions that imitate the environment of a fuel 

cell, the researchers added gold clusters to the platinum 

electrocatalyst, which kept it intact during an accelerated 

stability test. This test is conducted under conditions similar 

to those encountered in stop-and-go driving in an electric 

car. The research is reported in the January 12, 2007 edition 

of the journal Science.

Brookhaven’s Chemistry Department researchers Junliang 

Zhang, Kotaro Sasaki, and Radoslav Adzic, along with Eli 

Sutter from Brookhaven’s Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN), authored the research paper.

“Fuel cells are expected to become a major source of clean 

energy, with particularly important applications in transportation,” said coauthor Radoslav Adzic. “Despite many 

advances, however, existing fuel-cell technology still has 

drawbacks, including loss of platinum cathode electrocatalysts, which can be as much as 45 percent over five days, as 

shown in our accelerated stability test under potential cycling conditions. Using a new technique that we developed 

to deposit gold atoms on platinum, our team was able to 

show promise in helping to resolve this problem. The next 

step is to duplicate results in real fuel cells.”

A hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell converts hydrogen and oxygen into water and, as part of the process, produces electricity. Platinum electrocatalysts speed up oxidation and 

reduction reactions. Hydrogen is oxidized when electrons 

are released and hydrogen ions are formed; the released 

electrons supply current for an electric motor. Oxygen is 
26 27

Exploring High-Dielectric Materials

Through a New Route

scientists identified broken symmetry in the electronic 

density of the material. They then further explored this nanoscale disorder with extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) at NSLS beamlines X11A and X15B, as well as 

with theory calculations. 

Specifically, the researchers found that a certain number of 

copper and calcium atoms switched positions within the 

material, which at least partially results in the high dielectric response. Their results were published in the July 20, 

2007 issue of Physical Review Letters.

This type of nanoscale disorder was previously ignored 

by researchers in the field because of the lack of sufficient 

probing tools, Zhu said.

“Our study shows how integrated experiments can work to 

help solve a puzzling question and also to find a new route 

in searching for fascinating properties of materials – especially high-dielectric ones – by tailoring local disorder and 

orbital symmetry,” he said. 

Other researchers involved were Jincheng Zheng, Lijun 

Wu, Jonathan Hanson, Paul Northrup, and Wei Ku, all from 

Brookhaven; and Anatoly Frenkel, from Yeshiva University. 

The research was funded by the Office of Basic Energy Sciences within the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science. 

Y. Zhu, J. Zhang, L. Wu, A. Frenkel, J. Hanson, P. Northrup, W. Ku, “Nanoscale Disorder in CaCu3

Ti4O12: A New Route to Enhanced Dielectric 

Response,” Phys. Rev. Lett., 99: 037602 (2007).

Science Highlights

Chemical Sciences

The bonding-electron distribution of CCTO containing Cu, Ca, and O atoms. (left) Experimental observation extracted from 

structure factor measurements using combined electron and x-ray diffraction data. (right) DFT calculation based on the ideal 

crystal structure. 

From left, Lijun Wu, Jincheng Zheng, Wei Ku, Yimei Zhu, Jonathan Hanson, Anatoly Frenkel, and Paul Northrup

Using integrated techniques at the NSLS and the electron 

microscopy facility in Brookhaven’s Condensed Matter 

Physics and Materials Science Department, a team of researchers developed a powerful method for probing materials that could help further miniaturize microelectronic 

components. 

As electronic devices continue to shrink, so must components such as capacitors. However, past a certain size, the 

silicon-based material that’s traditionally used to manufacture the critical electronic circuits starts to leak current and 

no longer performs as it does at larger scales. To prevent 

this effect, researchers have been searching for materials 

with high dielectric constants (or high-k), which enable the 

use of even smaller capacitors within the electronic world. 

One of the best materials for this purpose is called CCTO, 

which is made of calcium, copper, titanium, and oxygen. 

“CCTO was discovered a few years ago, but only recently it 

was found to have one of the highest dielectric constants 

ever measured,” said Brookhaven physicist Yimei Zhu.

Materials with a dielectric constant greater than or equal 

to 7 usually qualify as high-k materials. At 100,000, the dielectric constant of CCTO far surpasses that benchmark. 

This intriguing property offers promising technological 

applications, such as the miniaturization of random access 

memories, as well as resonators and filters for microwave 

and wireless communications. There’s just one problem: No 

one could figure out why this anomaly existed. In a recent 

study, Zhu’s team set out to find an answer. 

First, using quantitative electron diffraction on single crystals of CCTO to measure valence electron distribution, the 
28 29

Hydrogen-Mediated Metal Transport

in Complex Metal Hydrides

Their results, which were published in the August 10, 2006 

edition of the Journal of the American Chemical Society, 

show titanium atoms near the surface, coordinated by a 

shell of aluminum. Simulations at 450 K revealed a similar 

local Ti environment. These results suggest that the role 

of Ti may be linked entirely to active catalytic sites in the 

metallic Al phase. The formation and migration of transient 

alane (AlHx) species is proposed as a plausible mechanism 

for the long-range aluminum transport that occurs during 

hydrogen cycling. Therefore, maintaining well-dispersed Ti 

within the Al phase will be essential to mitigating capacity 

fade during cycling.

Researchers involved in this work included Jason Graetz, 

James Reilly, and James Muckerman, all of Brookhaven, 

Santanu Chaudhuri, now at Washington State University, 

and Alex Ignatov, now at Louisiana State University. Funding was provided by the U.S. Department of Energy Office 

of Basic Energy Sciences.

S. Chaudhuri, J. Graetz, A. Ignatov, J. Reilly, J. Muckerman, “Understanding the Role of Ti in Reversible Hydrogen Storage as Sodium Alanate: A 

Combined Experimental and Density Functional Theoretical Approach,” 

J. Am. Chem. Soc., 128: 11404-11415 (2006).

Science Highlights

Chemical Sciences

Hydrogen, the most abundant element in the universe, is 

high on the list of energy carriers that might one day be a 

replacement for petroleum. A major obstacle, however, is 

storing it safely and compactly. One promising approach 

is solid-state storage in the form of a metal hydride. This 

is often done with the assistance of a catalyst such as titanium. At the NSLS, a team of BNL researchers investigated 

the titanium environment and the role of metal catalysts in 

sodium alanate, a hydrogen-storage material composed of 

sodium and aluminum hydride.

The demonstration of reversible hydrogen cycling in Ticatalyzed sodium aluminum hydride has generated considerable interest in complex metal hydrides. Since this 

discovery, a number of studies have looked at improving 

the catalytic effects and understanding the role of additives 

in H2 cycling. However, the mechanism by which sodium 

aluminum hydride is activated in the presence of a small 

amount of a transition metal is still not well understood. 

One of the principle questions is “How do the Al atoms 

migrate the long distances required during the hydrogenation reaction?” In this study, the researchers investigated 

the atomistic transport mechanisms of the reversible complex metal hydrides using x-ray absorption spectroscopy at 

NSLS beamlines X19A and X9B along with first-principles 

calculations.

(left) Pair distribution function determined 

from EXAFS data on 2 mol % Ti-catalyzed 

NaAlH4 (hydrogenated) and corrected for the 

phase shift. The inset shows a comparison of 

predicted and experimental distribution functions for Ti-Al pairs.

(below) Dissociation and diffusion of an Al3H9

cluster on an Al(001) surface showing formation of smaller fragments including a stable 

AlH4 and AlH3 cluster.

From left, Jason Graetz, James Muckerman, 

and James Reill
30

The research team at NSLS 

beamline X13B: from left, James 

Ablett, Aaron Stein, and Kenneth 

Evans-Lutterodt.

A kinoform lens 

31

Breaking the Barrier Toward

Nanometer X-Ray Resolution

A team of researchers at Brookhaven has overcome a ma-

jor obstacle for using refractive lenses to focus x-rays. This 

method will allow the efficient focusing of x-rays down to 

extremely small spots and is an important breakthrough in 

the development of a new, world-leading light source facil-

ity that promises advances in nanoscience, energy, biology, 

and materials research.

At the NSLS, the scientists exceeded a limit on the ability to 

focus “hard,” or high-energy, x-rays known as the “critical 

angle.” Their results are described online in the September 

28, 2007 edition of Physical Review Letters.

The critical angle is the maximum angle that light can be 

deflected, or bent, by a single surface. Imagine a beam 

of laser light traveling toward a glass lens. Depending on 

the characteristics of the lens material and the angle at 

which the beam is pointed, the light can be refracted, that 

is, transmitted through the lens but deflected. However, 

when this light approaches the lens at angles less than the 

critical angle, the beam does not pass through the lens but 

is instead reflected. This results in a maximum deflection 

angle for light that passes through the lens.

The maximum deflection angle determines the minimum 

spot size to which x-rays can be focused. This poses a prob-

lem for researchers who are using x-rays to study molecules, 

atoms, and advanced materials at the nanoscale – on the 

order of billionths of a meter. Such small subjects require 

tightly focused beams.

“One measure of the quality of an x-ray optic is how small 

a focused spot it can make,” said NSLS researcher Ken Ev-

ans-Lutterodt. “The problem is that nature does not allow a 

single lens to deflect the x-rays very much. This limits how 

small of a spot you can create, and this translates to some 

fuzziness in the image. To get a sharper image, you need a 

lens that’s more able to deflect the x-rays.” 

In 2003, a trio of Brookhaven researchers – Evans-Lutterodt, 

Aaron Stein, and James Ablett – were the first to notice the 

critical angle limit while investigating the properties of a 

so-called kinoform lens for focusing hard x-rays. This effi-

cient type of refractive lens is similar to those found in light-

houses. The research team proposed a solution to the criti-

Science Highlights

X-Ray Optics and Accelerator Physics

cal angle problem of a compound kinoform lens, and both 

the problem and proposed solution were also suggested 

later by other researchers in the field.

In the current publication, the researchers implemented 

their idea by creating a compound lens from a series of four 

kinoform lenses placed one after the other. Using this setup 

at NSLS beamline X13B, they showed that the critical angle 

can be surpassed with hard x-rays, while still focusing like 

a single lens. 

“Thanks to the excellent fabrication resources at 

Brookhaven’s Center for Functional Nanomaterials and at 

Alcatel-Lucent, we are able to fabricate the lenses to the 

precision required,” Stein said. 

This is an important step for the National Synchrotron Light 

Source II (NSLS-II), a state-of-the-art synchrotron facility that 

will produce x-rays up to 10,000 times brighter than those 

generated by the current NSLS and could lead to advances 

such as alternative-energy technologies and new drugs for 

fighting disease. One of the major goals of the facility is 

to probe materials and molecules with just one-nanome-

ter resolution – a capability needed to study the intricate 

mechanisms of chemical and biological systems. 

“Without exceeding the critical angle, the refractive lens 

resolution would be limited to 24 nanometers or more,” 

Ablett said. “Even though in this experiment we just barely 

exceeded this limit, we’ve shown that it can be done. This 

is just the first step.”

Next, the researchers will measure the resolution their new 

lens system produces, and will continue to fabricate and 

test optics that push further beyond the critical angle, and 

closer to the one-nanometer benchmark.

Natasha Bozovic, from San Jose State University, also col-

laborated on this research. Funding was provided by the 

Office of Basic Energy Sciences within the U.S. Department 

of Energy’s Office of Science. 

K. Evans-Lutterodt, A. Stein, J. Ablett, N. Bozovic, A. Taylor, D. Tennant, 

“Using Compound Kinoform Hard-X-Ray Lenses to Exceed the Critical 

Angle Limit,” Phys. Rev. Lett., 99: 134801 (2007).
33

Researchers Produce Firsts

with Bursts of Light

BNL researchers have generated extremely short pulses of 

light that are the strongest of their type ever produced and 

could prove invaluable in probing the ultra-fast motion of 

atoms and electrons. The scientists also made the first ob-

servations of a phenomenon called cross-phase modulation 

with this high-intensity light – a characteristic that could be 

used in numerous new light source technologies.

The work, which was done at Brookhaven’s Source Devel-

opment Laboratory, an offshoot of the Lab’s National Syn-

chrotron Light Source (NSLS), is described online in the July 

23, 2007, edition of Physical Review Letters.

The light pulses used were in the terahertz (THz) range of 

the broad electromagnetic spectrum, found between the 

microwave and infrared range. Scientists send tight bunch-

es of electrons at nearly the speed of light through a mag-

netic field to produce THz radiation at a trillion cycles per 

second — the terahertz frequency that gives the light its 

name and that makes them especially valuable for inves-

tigating biological molecules and imaging, ranging from 

tumor detection to homeland security.

The Brookhaven team is looking to expand the potential 

uses for this type of light by increasing the strength of indi-

vidual THz pulses, a longtime goal for scientists in the field. 

By slamming an electron beam from an accelerator into an 

aluminum mirror, the researchers produced 100 megajoule 

(100 megawatt) single-cycle pulses – the highest energy 

ever achieved to date with THz radiation. For comparison, 

100 megawatts is about the output of a utility company’s 

electrical generator.

The combination of this newfound strength with ultra-fast 

pulses provides researchers with a powerful new tool to 

study the movement of a material’s electrons (which zip 

around at the femtosecond, or quadrillionth of a second, 

timescale) or atoms (which move at the picosecond, or tril-

lionth of a second, timescale).

“The goal is really to understand the properties of materi-

als,” said NSLS researcher Yuzhen Shen, the lead author of 

the paper. “One might ask what happens in a solid when 

Science Highlights

X-Ray Optics and Accelerator Physics

light, electricity, or sound goes through it, and it’s all relat-

ed to atoms in a crystal wiggling around or the movement 

of electrons. So the effort surrounding ultra-fast pulses is 

going into making tools to probe the real fundamental 

properties of materials on the scales at which they move.”

Using this strong light, researchers can “kick” molecular 

processes such as catalysis or electronic switching (impor-

tant for developing data storage media) into action and 

watch their mechanisms on a very short timescale.

The team also found something surprising: the intensity 

of their THz pulses is so great that they introduce so-called 

“nonlinear optical effects,” specifically, a phenomenon 

known as cross-phase modulation.

“When you pull on a spring, if you pull twice as hard, it 

stretches twice as much,” said NSLS researcher Larry Carr. 

“But there’s a limit where if you pull twice as hard, the 

spring doesn’t move anymore. That’s when it’s called non-

linear. The same thing happens in materials. You let these 

short pulses pass through a material, and they stress it and 

pull some of the charges apart so they don’t act in a linear 

manner.” 

As a result, the researchers can manipulate both the ultrafast THz pulses and the material they interact with. Some 

of the simplest examples include changing the color of the 

light or turning the material into a focusing lens. 

This is the first time cross-phase modulation has been ob-

served in single-cycle THz pulses. Learning how to control 

this characteristic could lead to even more light source 

technologies.

This research was supported by the Office of Basic Energy 

Sciences within the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of 

Science, the Office of Naval Research, and Brookhaven’s 

Laboratory Directed R&D funds.

Y. Shen, T. Watanabe, D. Arena, C. Kao, J. Murphy, T. Tsang, X. Wang, 

G. Carr, “Nonlinear Cross-Phase Modulation with Intense Single-Cycle 

Terahertz Pulses,” Phys. Rev. Lett., 99: 043901 (2007).

32

(above) Authors, from left, Dario Are-

na, Xijie Wang, Yuzhen Shen, Larry 

Carr, Takahiro Watanabe, Boyzie Singh, 

James Murphy, and Thomas Tsang at 

the Source Development Lab.

Coherent synchrotron THz generation, 

detection, and application to nonlin-

ear optics
35

Science Highlights

It’s been an extremely productive year for research conducted by NSLS users and staff in the fields of structural 

biology, biomedical imaging, geological and environmental sciences, and soft condensed matter and biophysics. 

The community represents almost two-thirds of the NSLS 

users, and its publications continue to be of high impact 

in premier scientific journals like Science, Nature, Physical 

Review Letters, and PNAS. This year’s Activity Report briefly 

describes some of the 2007 science highlights, while many 

more highlights can be found on the CD in the back of this 

book and on the NSLS website.

Undoubtedly, one of the most notable highlights from this 

year in earth and environmental sciences was the series of 

five papers published in Science on results of the comet 

81P/Wild 2 samples collected by the NASA Stardust mission 

that returned to Earth in early 2006. This large body of work 

utilized infrared, hard x-ray, and soft x-ray microprobes 

on four different NSLS beamlines, as well as beamlines at 

other synchrotrons worldwide. One of the main findings of 

the study is that the materials from which our solar system 

were made must have undergone a considerable amount of 

mixing while the sun and planets were forming. The comet 

dust was found to contain a wide variety of minerals, as well 

as organic materials. Some of these minerals and organics 

look similar to those seen in primitive types of meteorites, 

but both the minerals and the organics show the presence 

of some new materials not previously seen in meteorites. 

NSLS users also published one of Discover Magazine’s top 

100 science stories of 2007 – a paper by Garai, et al. that 

investigated the extraterrestrial origin of carbonado diamonds using infrared microspectroscopy. In environmental sciences, Huggins et al. used x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) to study the speciation of arsenic in fly-ash from 

coal-burning plants in order to understand its toxicity. Also 

through XAS, “green chemistry” took a big step forward in 

2007 when de Oliveira, et al. revealed a structural intermediate for an Fe-TAML catalyst that is responsible for the catalyst’s ability to destroy pollutants in water by accelerating 

cleansing reactions with hydrogen peroxide.

Structural biology researchers had another impressive year. 

Crystal structures of the catalytic domain of the hepatitis 

C virus NS2-3 protease (Lorenz, et al.) and peptide inhibitors of HIV-1 entry into the cell (Welch, et al.) were solved 

with macromolecular crystallography. Membrane-bound 

proteins continue to be a challenge for structure determination, but success was achieved by Wang, et al. when they 

solved the structure of a rhomboid family intramembrane 

protease.

In biomedical imaging, infrared microspectroscopy was 

used to show that the stiffness of bone lags considerably 

behind the process of bone mineralization in growing mice 

(Miller, et al.).

In the field of soft condensed matter and biophysics, the 

mechanisms behind the ordering and self-assembly of materials were studied in a wide range of systems in 2007. For 

example, Subburaman, et al. used x-ray scattering to demonstrate templated biomineralization of calcium carbonate 

on self-assembled protein fibers while Douglas et al. studied the forces behind self-assembly in organosilane monolayers using XAS. In addition, the unique process of “surface 

freezing” of thin oil films on water was examined using surface x-ray scattering techniques (Sloutskin, et al.).

Finally, dramatic advances in x-ray fluorescence imaging 

detectors were also demonstrated in 2007 by Ryan, et al. 

who have designed new silicon-based array detectors, 

electronics, and software that are able to collect data and 

analyze data 2-3 orders of magnitude faster than current 

systems. With a finite amount of beam time for all users, 

this will certainly be a welcomed added capability to x-ray 

fluorescence microprobe beamlines worldwide.

Life and Environmental Sciences Introduction

Lisa Miller

Life and Environmental Sciences Division Head

“ T h e N A SA S ta rd u s t

mission produced one

o f t h e m o s t n o ta b l e

h i g h l i g h t s i n 2 0 0 7 ,

where tiny particles were 

probed with four different

NSLS microscopes and 

produced five Science

papers.”

34
37

NSLS Scientists Reach for the Stars(dust)

Science Highlights

Earth and Environmental Sciences

One of the main findings of the study is that the materials 

from which our solar system formed must have undergone 

a considerable amount of mixing while the sun and planets 

were forming. 

“The common perception is that comets come from these 

really cold regions of the solar system with lots of ice,” said 

University of Chicago geochemist Tony Lanzirotti, who 

worked on multiple aspects of the analysis. “But we found 

minerals like olivine, high-temperature minerals that on 

Earth are formed in magma. It really says a lot about the 

violent early history of the solar system, where you have 

high-temperature phases being mixed with cold regions of 

outer space in a very rapid manner.”

The comet dust was found to contain a wide variety of minerals, as well as organic materials. Some of these minerals 

and organics look similar to those seen in primitive types of 

meteorites, but both the minerals and the organics show 

the presence of some new materials not previously seen in 

meteorites.

One of the biggest challenges was accounting for the deterioration of the dust particles as they crash-landed into the 

aerogel at 14,000 miles per hour.

“They’re looking at all the little components that were left 

behind after the particle hit the aerogel, and in the end, 

they want to get the composition of the original particle,” 

said NSLS physicist Larry Carr. “The particles are a composite with parts getting ripped off and left behind in the form 

of a debris trail. It would be like finding a dead body in the 

woods, along with footprints, pieces of cloth, and hair, and 

trying to figure out who the victim was.”

Now that the preliminary examination is completed, the 

samples will be made available to the general scientific 

community for more detailed study, possibly at the NSLS, 

where this small amount of dust has caused a great deal of 

attention.

D. Brownlee, et al; Science, 314: 1711-1716 (2006); S. Sandford, et al., 

Science, 314: 1720-1724 (2006); L. Keller, et al., Science, 314: 1728-1731 

(2006); G. Flynn, et al, Science, 314: 1731-1735 (2006); M. Zolensky, et al., 

Science, 314: 1735-1739 (2006).

A research project at the NSLS has turned to dust – star 

dust, that is. After months of studying particles collected 

from a comet passing inside Jupiter’s orbit, a group of NSLS 

users and scientists has finished its preliminary examination on the dust, revealing details that might help explain 

the beginning of the solar system. 

As part of an international team of more than 175 members, NSLS users and scientists used x-ray, infrared, and ultraviolet light to study the chemical composition and properties of the extremely small dust particles, most less than 

15 micrometers in diameter. The diameter of a human hair, 

in comparison, is about 50 micrometers. Locked within the 

particles, which were collected from the comet Wild 2 by 

the NASA Stardust spacecraft, is unique chemical and physical information that provides a record of the formation of 

the planets and the materials from which they were made.

Working with about a picogram of dust, one trillionth of 

a gram, the scientists studied the elemental composition, 

organic materials, and mineralogy and petrology of the 

particles at four NSLS beamlines – X26A, X1A1, U10A, and 

U10B. Their findings, combined with those from other synchrotrons and institutions, were published in five of the 

seven Stardust papers in the December 15, 2006 issue of 

the journal Science.

The first samples from Stardust arrived at the NSLS in February 2006, suspended within “aerogel,” a silicon-based, 

sponge-like material used to capture the particles in space. 

Once the particles were extracted from the gel, a powerful 

x-ray imaging device was used to collect detailed images of 

some of the smallest particles as well as to determine their 

elemental makeup. In particular, the scientists looked for 

the element carbon, which can indicate that the particles 

contain organic compounds — compounds that may have 

formed at the birth of our solar system. 

Infrared light was used to identify specific minerals within 

the particles, as well as identify any organic compounds 

that were detected. Unlike x-ray methods, the information 

collected using these infrared techniques can be compared 

with the astronomical observations of distant interstellar 

dust clouds, including those involved with the formation of 

planetary systems like ours.

36

From left, George Flynn (SUNY Plattsburgh), Lindsay Keller (NASA), Larry Carr (NSLS), and Randy 

Smith (NSLS) examine samples from the Stardust mission at beamline U10A.

Composite Stardust image of comet Wild 2 (Photo 

courtesy of NASA)

Stardust particle embedded in the aerogel 

collector (Photo courtesy of NASA)
39

Diamonds from Outer Space:

Geologists Discover Origin of Earth’s

Mysterious Black Diamonds

the National Science Foundation’s Division of Earth Sciences, which funded the research. “This process preserves the 

unique crystal structure that makes diamonds the hardest 

natural material known.”

From Australia to Siberia, from China to India, the geological settings of conventional diamonds are virtually identical, said Haggerty. None of them are compatible with the 

formation of black diamonds.

Approximately 600 tons of conventional diamonds have 

been mined, traded, polished and adorned since 1900, “but 

not a single black/carbonado diamond has been discovered in the world’s mining fields,” Haggerty said.

The new data support earlier research by Haggerty showing that carbonado diamonds formed in stellar supernovae 

explosions. Black diamonds were once the size of asteroids, 

a kilometer or more in diameter when they first landed on 

Earth.

J. Garai, S. Haggerty, S. Rekhi, M. Chance, “Infrared Absorption Investigations Confirm the Extraterrestrial Origin of Carbonado Diamonds,” 

Astrophys. J., 653: L153-L156 (2007).

--Cheryl Dybas, National Science Foundation

Science Highlights

Earth and Environmental Sciences

If indeed “a diamond is forever,” the most primitive origins 

of Earth’s so-called black diamonds were in deep, universal time, geologists have discovered. Black diamonds came 

from none other than interstellar space.

In a paper published on December 20, 2006 in Astrophysical Journal Letters, scientists Jozsef Garai and Stephen Haggerty of Florida International University, along with Case 

Western Reserve University researchers Sandeep Rekhi and 

Mark Chance, claim an extraterrestrial origin for the unique 

black diamonds, also called carbonado diamonds.

The researchers used infrared light to analyze the diamonds’ elemental makeup at NSLS beamline U2B, which is 

operated by the Case Center for Synchrotron Biosciences, 

of Case Western Reserve University.

“Trace elements critical to an ‘ET’ origin are nitrogen and 

hydrogen,” said Haggerty. The presence of hydrogen in the 

carbonado diamonds indicates an origin in a hydrogen-rich 

interstellar space, he and colleagues believe.

The term carbonado was coined by the Portuguese in Brazil 

in the mid-18th century; it’s derived from its visual similarity to porous charcoal. Black diamonds are found only in 

Brazil and the Central African Republic.

“Conventional diamonds are mined from explosive volcanic 

rocks [kimberlites] that transport them from depths in excess of 100 kilometers to the Earth’s surface in a very short 

amount of time,” said Sonia Esperanca, program director in 

38

Stephen Haggerty (left) and Jozsef Garai

Mark Chance

Sandeep Rekhi

A black, or carbonado, diamond
41

Investigating Arsenic and Selenium

in Fly Ash From Coal Plants 

“Generally, the higher the oxidation state of the element, 

the more soluble it is, and the easier it gets into the water 

supplies,” he said.

After examining 10 samples of two types of coal – eastern United States bituminous (Fe-rich) and western North 

American sub-bituminous (Ca-rich) – the researchers discovered that selenium is found predominantly as Se(IV) 

and arsenic is found as As(V). Similar spectral details were 

observed for both arsenic and selenium in the two different 

types of fly ash, suggesting that a major component (possibly Fe in bituminous coal or Ca in sub-bituminous coal) 

controls the capture of these elements by fly ash during 

combustion. The results were published in the May 1, 2007 

issue of Environmental Science & Technology. 

The XAFS work performed by the research team, which also 

includes Constance Senior (Reaction Engineering International, Salt Lake City, Utah), Gerald Huffman (University of 

Kentucky), and Paul Chu and Ken Ladwig (Electric Power 

Research Institute, Palo Alto, CA), is meant to complement 

another study on arsenic and selenium fly ash leachability. 

This work was funded by Electric Power Research Institute.

F. Huggins, C.Senior, P.Chu, K.Ladwig, G.Huffman, “Selenium and Arsenic Speciation in Fly Ash from Full-Scale Coal-Burning Utility Plants,” 

Environ. Sci. Tech., 41: 3284-3289 (2007).

Science Highlights

Earth and Environmental Sciences

Arsenic and selenium – two of the most volatile and potentially hazardous elements to be released from commercial 

coal-burning plants – are also found in large quantities in 

the byproduct of the electricity-producing process. This 

fine residue, known as fly ash, is produced in large quantities as coal is burned and can either be used in “green” applications such as concrete, or disposed of in landfills and 

tailings ponds. To learn more about how these potentially 

toxic elements are released when submerged in water, a 

team of researchers used the NSLS to determine the basic 

characteristics of selenium and arsenic in fly ash samples 

collected from several plants in the United States and Canada. 

“A huge amount of electricity is generated from coal, which 

means huge amounts of coal combustion and waste materials,” said University of Kentucky researcher Frank Huggins. 

“About 10-20 percent of the mass of the coal comes out as 

fly ash, and there are some uses for the material, but most 

of it ends up in ponds. Ultimately, we want to find out how 

much of these trace elements leach out and how far they 

go.”

Using x-ray adsorption fine structure spectroscopy (XAFS) 

at NSLS beamline X18B and at the Stanford Synchrotron 

Radiation Laboratory, Huggins and his team of researchers 

determined the oxidation states and speciation of selenium 

and arsenic in samples from coal-fired utility plants burning 

a range of coals. These factors primarily determine the elements’ toxicity and how easily they escape from the material, Huggins said. 

40

Arsenic XANES (a) and derivative XANES (b) spectra for 10 fly-ash samples from full-scale pulverized coal combustion plants in 

North America. Samples 1-5 and 9 were derived from plants burning eastern U.S. bituminous coals that are rich in sulfur and 

iron. In contrast, samples 6-8 were derived from plants burning western subbituminous coals that are low in sulfur and rich in 

calcium. The spectra show that the arsenic is present in the fly-ash principally as arsenate species. Also, the XANES spectra 

for arsenic, as well as for selenium (not shown), exhibit systematic differences that reflect the type of coal. The spectrum for 

sample #9 was collected using a Si(220) monochromator crystal set and exhibits noticeably better resolution than the other 

nine spectra, which were collected using a Si(111) monochromator crystal set.

From left, Paul Chu, Frank Huggins, Constance Senior, Gerald Huffman, and Ken Ladwig
42 43

Science Highlights

Earth and Environmental Sciences

Boosting Speed, Precision

of X-Ray Fluorescence Microprobes

The final pieces of the new fluorescence microprobe system are advanced data analysis techniques that can handle 

the increased data processing speed and map the x-ray energies in real time. Led by physicist Chris Ryan, scientists 

at CSIRO developed software and hardware to unfold the 

signals from chemical elements at up to 100 million events 

per second. 

“The combination of large multi-element detectors, fastscan mapping, and real-time processing means we can 

tackle challenging new approaches in a realistic timescale,” 

Ryan said. “Techniques such as chemical-state imaging and 

fluorescence tomography will now become practical tools, 

made possible with this massive increase in speed and 

throughput.” 

In the first demonstration of this technique, which was 

detailed in the 2006 Goldschmidt Conference Abstracts, the 

research team produced a 4 mega pixel image of a 14th 

century tooth and looked for lead accumulation that might 

indicate the presence of lead poisoning hundreds of years 

ago. 

“The image was produced in just about six hours, a task that 

would normally take days," Siddons said. “No one ever did 

a 4 mega pixel image before because it would just take too 

long.”

Now, the group is building two 400-element detectors: one 

for the NSLS and one for the Australian Synchrotron. They 

are expected to produce scanning images 1,000 times faster than the traditional x-ray fluorescence technique. 

Other scientists involved in the research include Gareth 

Moorhead, Paul Dunn, Robin Kirkham, Robert Hough, and 

Barbara Etschmann, all of CSIRO; and Angelo Dragone and 

Gianluigi De Geronimo, from BNL. This research was funded 

by the U.S. Department of Energy and the CSIRO Emerging 

Science program.

C. Ryan, D. Siddons, G. Moorhead, P. Dunn, R. Kirkham, A. Dragone, G. 

De Geronimo, R. Hough, B. Etschmann, “The Next Generation of Synchrotron Fluorescence Imaging for Geological Applications,” Geochim. 

Cosmochim. Acta, 70: A550 (2006).

Combining large, high-resolution detector arrays with an 

advanced analysis technique, researchers from the NSLS, 

BNL’s Instrumentation Department, and Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization 

(CSIRO) have developed an x-ray fluorescence microprobe 

system that will be about 1,000 times faster than previous 

methods. 

X-ray fluorescence is a powerful technique generally used 

in the environmental and geological sciences for measuring 

trace element concentrations in a sample. Typically, a very 

tiny x-ray spot is focused on a sample, which ionizes electrons from the material’s atoms. These excited atoms relax, 

filling the vacancies, and in doing so, emit x-rays at energies 

characteristic of specific elements. However, scientists can 

only determine the elements present in the portion of the 

sample that’s exposed to the x-ray spot. To get an idea of 

the entire sample’s chemical composition, the spot must be 

manually moved from one location to another – a process 

that can take many hours to produce low-resolution maps 

of just a few thousand pixels.

“You have to stop and start and it’s a pain in the neck,” said 

NSLS physicist Peter Siddons. “So we came up with a method that would allow us to scan the scheme continuously 

along a line. The exposure time is just a few milliseconds at 

each point so, like previous ‘on-the-fly’ scanning systems, it 

never really stops moving. However, we collect full spectral 

data as we go. That not only makes it fast, but allows a highquality quantitative analysis as well.”

The new scanning method, which has been tested at NSLS 

beamline X27A, also includes two other improvements 

upon the old technique. The first is the use of a multi-element detector, which incorporates many small detectors 

(32 in the test run) into one device, instead of using one 

large detector.

“These experiments are limited not only by mechanical 

speed, but also by how many photons you’re detecting 

from the x-ray spot,” Siddons said. “There are always more 

than enough photons in the synchrotron spectrum to excite these samples and saturate the detector. By making the 

detectors smaller and making more of them, we can collect more signal at each position in the map, or do it much 

faster.” 

Iron-oxide nodules imaged using the 32-element prototype detector array at NSLS beamline X27A (12x12 mm2, 375x375

pixels at 32 ms/pixel).

Calcium (left) and lead in a 14th century tooth imaged using the 32-element prototype detector array at NSLS beamline X27A. 

The color legend distinguishes high (top) from low concentrations. The tooth was supplied by Rudiger Brenn, University of Freiberg (12x12 mm2, 2000x2000 pixels at 6 ms/pixel, 6.7 hours acquisition).
45

Revealing a Key Intermediate

in Green Oxidation Catalysis

Science Highlights

Earth and Environmental Sciences

stitute for Green Oxidation Chemistry at CMU’s Mellon Col-

lege of Science. “Proving it was another matter.”

Atoms with high oxidation states, such as Fe(IV) and Fe(V), 

are difficult to trap because they’re so reactive. In order to 

“catch” the Fe(V)-oxo group, the researchers set up a sys-

tem in an organic solvent at a very low temperature (about 

–60 °C) because water’s high freezing point prevented its 

use. They then titrated it in a very reactive peroxide. 

Using x-ray absorption spectroscopy at NSLS beamline X3B, 

University of Minnesota researcher Lawrence Que’s group 

combined with Collins’ group and CMU’s Mössbauer, EPR, 

and theory group (led by Eckard Münck) to reveal the longsought chemical and electronic properties of the intermediate. This is the first characterization of an Fe(V)-oxo complex.

“This was a great challenge, and we’ve gotten to the top 

of this mountain,” Que said. “Knowing these properties in-

creases our ability to carry out the oxidation of compounds 

and helps us understand how iron agents might be work-

ing in environmental remediation.” 

That includes an increased knowledge about Collins’ FeTAML catalysts, which have been demonstrated for a variety of uses including cleaning up water polluted at textile, 

pulp, and paper mills; removing sulfur from diesel fuel; de-

stroying traces of endocrine-disrupting chemicals in water; 

killing anthrax spores and other water-borne infectious mi-

crobes; and even stopping dark-colored laundry from stain-

ing whites and lights in the wash.

This research was supported by the National Institutes of 

Health, the Heinz Endowments, the Environmental Protec-

tion Agency, and the Heinz Family Foundation for the Tere-

sa Heinz Scholars for Environmental Research Award. Other 

researchers include Filipe Tiago de Oliveira, Arani Chanda, 

Deboshri Banerjee, Sujit Mondal, and Emile Bominaar, all 

from Carnegie Mellon University; and Xiaopeng Shan, from 

the University of Minnesota. 

F. de Oliveira, A. Chanda, D. Banerjee, X. Shan, S. Mondal, L. Que, Jr., E. 

Bominaar, E. Munck, T. Collins, “Chemical and Spectroscopic Evidence 

for an Fev-Oxo Complex,” Science, 315: 835 (2007).

As industrial processes release pollutants such as dyes, pes-

ticides and other harmful chemicals into the Earth’s water, 

a team of researchers is turning to a class of “green” cata-

lysts for cleanup. Developed at Carnegie Mellon University 

in 1995, Fe-TAMLs – short for iron tetra-amido macrocyclic 

ligand activators – destroy a multitude of pollutants in wa-

ter by accelerating cleansing reactions with hydrogen per-

oxide. Since then, researchers have worked to determine 

exactly how these processes work, and recently, they fig-

ured out another piece of that puzzle. Through studies that 

included extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) 

investigations at the NSLS, researchers from CMU and the 

University of Minnesota have isolated and characterized a 

species thought to be a key intermediate in the Fe-TAML 

reaction with peroxides and oxygen. 

The results of the study, published in the February 9, 2007 

issue of Science, lend weight to the theory that Fe-TAML 

catalysts work by separating hydrogen peroxide into water 

and an oxygen atom that is bound to the iron of the FeTAML. The resulting Fe-TAML-oxo complex then destroys 

undesirable molecules, rendering them less toxic and often 

proceeding to mineralization or near-mineralization. The in-

ventor of these extremely active catalysts, CMU’s Terry Col-

lins, describes Fe-TAML reactions as “fire in water,” because 

the activated peroxide carries out chemistry on many (but 

not all) carbon-containing compounds where the products 

resemble those of combustion. 

Because of this high reactivity, the catalyst’s developers 

had to build ligand systems that allow for the formation of 

iron-oxo complexes from the Fe-TAML activators without 

being rapidly destroyed by the highly reactive intermedi-

ates they enable. 

The stable form of the iron used in the Fe-TAML starting 

catalyst complex is Fe(III), the state of iron found naturally 

in rust. However, during the reaction between peroxides 

and an Fe-TAML activator, the iron’s oxidation state has 

been shown to pass through an Fe(IV) species and then 

proceed onto an Fe(V) species. This Fe(V)-oxo complex is 

thought to be a key reactive intermediate in Fe-TAML oxi-

dation catalysis.

“For about the last 10 years, I’ve been convinced that the 

Fe(V)-oxo group existed,” said Collins, the director of the In-

44 The structure of the Fe(V)-oxo complex (brown, iron; red, ox

-

ygen; blue, nitrogen; and gray, carbon.) For clarity, hydrogen 

atoms are not shown.

Terry Collins Lawrence Que
47

Science Highlights

Crystal Structure of the Catalytic Domain

of the Hepatitis C Virus NS2-3 Protease

An estimated 120 million people are infected worldwide 

with Hepatitis C virus (HCV), an important human pathogen leading to cirrhosis and liver cancer. A vaccine has not 

yet been developed, and only 55-60 percent of the patients 

respond to the currently available therapies. Therefore, approaches to identify novel drug targets are sorely needed. 

At the NSLS, a team of researchers from The Rockefeller 

University made a step in that direction by determining the 

crystal structure of the catalytic domain of the HCV NS2-3 

protease, which might aid in the discovery of new antiviral 

therapies.

The RNA genome of HCV contains one open reading frame 

that codes for 10 viral proteins. Three proteins are structural components of the virus particle and the remainder 

is involved in viral replication and host interactions. Synthesis of the HCV proteins occurs by translation of the viral 

genome into a polyprotein precursor, which is processed 

into individual proteins by two host cellular and two viral 

proteases. One of them, the HCV NS2-3 protease, cleaves 

the viral polyprotein at one position – an essential action 

for the onset of RNA replication.

Using multiwavelength anomalous diffraction at NSLS 

beamlines X9A and X29, the research team determined the 

crystal structure of the catalytic domain of the NS2-3 protease. They found that the protease is a dimer that contains 

a pair of composite active sites, with both monomers contributing residues to each active site. This unusual feature 

may enable the virus to regulate the processing of proteins 

by proteases (an action known as proteolysis) and thus replication initiation. 

To demonstrate that NS2 can form dimers with composite 

active sites in vivo, or within an organism, the team used 

two mutant NS2-3 polypeptides in tissue culture experiLife Sciences

ments. Each of these NS2-3 variants expressed individually 

cannot undergo cleavage at the NS2/3 junction. However, 

the researchers showed that if a composite active site can 

form, then mixing of the two NS2-3 mutants leads to the 

reconstitution of a functional active site, resulting in partial 

proteolytic processing.

Their results were published in the August 16, 2006 edition 

of the journal Nature.

Proteolysis through formation of a composite active site 

has never been observed in a serine or cysteine protease 

(such as HCV NS2-3) before. However, these features are 

reminiscent of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which 

encodes a dimeric aspartic protease with a single active site 

at the dimer interface. Thus, HCV and HIV may have evolved 

similar strategies to control the timing of events during 

their viral life cycles.

Moreover, knowing details about the protease’s structure 

might help in the search for small-molecule inhibitors directed against the active site.

Researchers involved included Ivo Lorenz, Joe Marcotrigiano, Thomas Dentzer, and Charles Rice, all from The Rockefeller University, Laboratory of Virology and Infectious 

Disease. This work was funded by the National Institutes of 

Health, the Greenberg Medical Research Institute, the Swiss 

National Science Foundation, the Roche Research Foundation, the Swiss Foundation for Medical-Biological Stipends, 

and the Life Sciences Research Foundation.

I. Lorenz, J. Marcotrigiano, T. Dentzer, C. Rice, “Structure of the Catalytic 

Domain of the Hepatitis C Virus NS2-3 Protease,” Nature, 442: 831-5 

(2006).

46

From left, Joe Marcotrigiano, Charles Rice, lab mascot Sadie, 

Thomas Dentzer, and Ivo Lorenz.

(below) Structure of the NS2 protease domain. a, Ribbon 

diagram showing the structure of the NS2pro dimer, with 

one monomer in blue, the other in red. b, Ribbon diagram of 

the NS2pro dimer rotated 90o around the horizontal axis in 

a. The amino- and carboxy-termini are labeled.

(above) The active site of NS2. a, Location of the two active sites in the NS2pro dimer, shown within the boxed regions. b, 

Close-up view of the NS2pro active site in the solid-lined box in a. The amino acid residues His 143, Glu 163, Cys 184, and 

Leu 217 are shown as ball-and-stick drawings. The active site is composed of His 143 and Glu 163 from one molecule of the 

dimer (chain A, drawn in blue), and Cys 184 from the other molecule (chain B, drawn in red). The C-terminal residue, Leu 217, 

originates from the same chain as Cys 184.
49

Potent Peptides Inhibit HIV Entry Into Cells

After identifying the most promising candidate peptides, 

the researchers analyzed the structure of these peptides 

bound to the target protein using x-ray crystallography at 

NSLS beamline X29. In this technique, researchers analyze 

how an extremely bright beam of x-rays bounces off and is 

refracted by the sample to determine the positions of individual atoms. 

“These structures reveal details of how the peptides bind 

and guide the development of future inhibitors,” said paper co-author Annie Heroux, a biologist and crystallography specialist at Brookhaven. 

This structure-assisted design led to the discovery of Dpeptides with up to a 40,000-fold improved antiviral potency over previously reported D-peptides. The structures 

also suggest ways to engineer the peptides to reduce the 

chance of drug resistance. 

This research was funded by the National Institutes of 

Health, the University of Utah Technology Commercialization Project, and the American Cancer Society. Other 

researchers involved in the study include Brett Welch, Andrew VanDemark, and Christopher Hill, all from the University of Utah.

B. Welch, A. VanDemark, A. Heroux, C. Hill, M. Kay, “Potent D-peptide 

Inhibitors of HIV-1 Entry,” Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 104: 16828-16833 (2007).

Science Highlights

Life Sciences

Based in part on protein structures determined at the NSLS, 

scientists at the University of Utah have developed new 

peptides that appear to be significantly more effective at 

blocking HIV’s entry into cells than other drugs in their 

class. In a paper published in the October 23, 2007 edition 

of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the 

researchers say these peptides are sufficiently potent to 

begin pre-clinical studies as a new class of agents for the 

prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS.

“Our ‘D-peptides’ offer several potential therapeutic advantages over existing peptide entry inhibitors, which are 

costly, require high dose injections, and suffer from the 

emergence of drug-resistance,” said University of Utah 

biochemist Michael S. Kay, senior author on the paper. “In 

contrast, our D-peptides resist degradation, so they have 

the potential to be administered by mouth and last longer 

in the bloodstream. Since these inhibitors have a unique inhibitory mechanism, they should work well in combination 

with existing HIV inhibitors.”

The researchers were particularly interested in developing 

drugs to bind to an essential “pocket” structure found in 

all HIV strains that was previously identified as a promising drug target using structures determined at the NSLS. 

Numerous previous attempts to target this pocket failed 

to produce potent and non-toxic pocket-specific entry inhibitors. In the current work, the researchers used a highthroughput technique to screen a “library” containing hundreds of millions of peptides to identify the rare peptides 

that would bind to the pocket structure and inhibit HIV 

entry. 

48

Annie Heroux Structure of D-peptide inhibitors (green, 

yellow, and purple) bound to an HIV protein 

mimic in three “pockets” that are essential 

to the virus' ability to enter cells. Blocking 

the pockets thwarts entry and reduces infectivity.

Michael Kay (left) and Brett Welch Chris Hill Andrew VanDemark
51

Science Highlights

Crystal Structure of

Intramembrane Protease GlpG

Intramembrane proteolysis – a process in which proteases embedded in cellular membranes use water to break 

apart peptide bonds – was initially a controversial concept 

because it is not clear where the water comes from in the 

oily, water-excluding membrane. However, intramembrane 

proteolysis is now seen as common process in biology, and 

is responsible for generating amyloid β-peptide that causes 

Alzheimer’s disease. In order to investigate this relationship, a group of Yale School of Medicine researchers used 

the NSLS to determine the crystal structure of GlpG, one 

membrane protein that specializes in catalyzing this reaction. Their research illustrates the physical principles that 

underlie the unique mechanism, and sheds light on the 

ways proteases regulate crucial biological processes and 

contribute to disease.

Using x-ray diffraction techniques at NSLS beamlines X6A 

and X29, the researchers described the crystallized rhomboid structure, GlpG, which provides the first detailed view 

of the intramembrane protease and correlates with earlier 

genetic and biochemical studies. Although little is known 

about their function, rhomboids are found in almost all organisms and they have been paired to processes as varying 

as mitochondrial function, bacterial communication, and 

growth factor signaling.

Life Sciences

The researchers determined that the structure of GlpG contains six transmembrane helices. Inside the bundle of transmembrane helices is a cavity that opens toward the outside 

of the cell and is thought to represent the active site of the 

protease. Their studies also revealed the presence of water 

molecules in the cavity. Conformational changes cause the 

cavity to “open,” allowing water to diffuse easily into the 

active site and react with substrate.

Because intramembrane proteolysis usually takes place in 

aqueous solutions, the researchers’ observations solve the 

long-time puzzle of a water-requiring reaction in the middle of cell membranes. Their results were published in the 

November 9, 2006 edition of the journal Nature.

Researchers included Ya Ha, Yongcheng Wang, and Yingjiu 

Zhang, all from Yale. Funding was provided by the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Institutes of Health, the 

Ellison Medical Foundation, and the Neuroscience Education and Research Foundation.

Y. Wang, Y. Zhang, Y. Ha, “Crystal Structure of a Rhomboid Family Intramembrane Protease,” Nature, 444: 179-183 (2006).

50

(above) The overall structure. (a) The front view. The transmembrane helices shown as cylinders are sequentially labeled 1-6. 

The two horizontal lines mark the boundaries of the membrane. (b) The side view related to (a) by a 90-degree rotation as 

shown.

The active site is filled with water (yellow spheres).Mutagenesis studies on related rhomboid proteases mapped onto GlpG structure. 

The GLSG (Gly-199, Ser-201) sequence motif and His-254 are shown in red; His150 and Asn-154 in orange; Trp-136 and Arg-137 in yellow. (a) and (b) represent 

different views.
53

Accretion of Bone Quantity and Quality

in the Developing Mouse Skeleton

mained low until the tissue mineral density reached about 

65 percent of its adult value, it is possible that mineral accumulation in the hole zones has little effect on bone’s intrinsic stiffness. But once the mineral content increased to 

where the overlap zones become mineralized, the elastic 

modulus increased rapidly as well.

The team’s results were published in the July 2007 edition 

of the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research. They indicate 

that specific chemical and structural properties modulate bone’s stiffness during early growth and suggest that 

changes in bone may be co-regulated by similar genes during this development period. The intrinsic stiffening of the 

bone, however, falls behind the initial mineral formation, 

emphasizing the importance of bone mineral quality for 

optimizing strength. With clear evidence that bone’s chemical properties and micro-structure play an important role 

in defining the micro-mechanical properties of the skeleton 

during growth, a better mechanistic understanding of the 

underlying processes may enable the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of poor bone quality.

Researchers include Lisa Miller (NSLS), and Anne Schirmer, 

William Little, Farhan Sheik, Bhavin Busa, and Stefan Judex 

(Stony Brook University). Funding for the study was provided by the U.S. Department of Energy, NASA, the Whitaker 

Foundation, and a SUNY-BNL Seed Grant. 

L. Miller, W. Little, A. Schirmer, F. Sheik, B. Busa, S. Judex, “Accretion of 

Bone Quantity and Quality in the Developing Mouse Skeleton,” J. Bone 

Miner. Res., 22: 1037-1045 (2007).

Science Highlights

Life Sciences

An important contributor to bone quality is its chemical 

makeup. It is well established that the chemical composition and mechanical properties of bone change with age. 

However, the interdependence between bone’s specific 

chemical makeup and its corresponding mechanical properties is still poorly understood. At NSLS beamline U10B, a 

team of researchers from Brookhaven and Stony Brook University evaluated the chemical, structural, and mechanical 

properties of the mouse tibia during the first 40 days of life 

to find out whether specific compositional properties of 

bone determine the stiffness of the tissue.

Using synchrotron IR microspectroscopy, microCT, and nanoindentation, the researchers found that bone mineral 

formation proceeded very rapidly in mice by one day of 

age, where the degree of mineralization, the tissue mineral 

density, and the mineral crystallinity reached 36 percent, 51 

percent, and 87 percent of the adult values, respectively. 

However, even though significant mineralization had occurred, the elastic modulus of one-day-old bone was only 

14 percent of its adult value and increased to 89 percent 

after 40 days, indicating that the intrinsic stiffening of the 

bone lags considerably behind the initial mineral formation. 

The researchers believe that this initial lag in elastic modulus may be associated with the specific locations of the 

mineral crystals within the collagen fibrils. Electron micrographs have shown that, in early mineralization, the overall accumulation of mineral mass is predominant in what 

are known as collagen “hole zones” compared to “overlap 

zones.” Since the elastic modulus of the mouse bone re-

52

In this study, tibiae of female BALB mice were harvested at 8 time points (n=4 each) distributed between 1d and 40d of age. Tibiae of 450d old mice served as fully mineralized control 

specimens. (A) Micro-CT and (B) FTIRM phosphate/protein images of the mouse mid-diaphysis 

at 1d, 4d, 14d, and 40d of age. All images for each technique are plotted on the same intensity scale for direct comparison. Results showed that the spatial variability in mineralization 

across the mid-tibia was very high for the early time points and declined over time.

Lisa Miller (left) and Stefan Judex

Phosphate/protein, crystallinity, elastic modulus, and TMD 

as a function of age. In order to compare all parameters on 

a common scale, the y-axis values represent the fraction of 

the adult (15mos) value. Results showed that bone mineralization (phosphate/protein ratio, crystallinity, and TMD) proceeded quickly at an early age, whereas bone stiffness (elastic modulus) lagged behind. This initial lag in elastic modulus 

may be associated with the specific locations of the mineral 

crystals within the collagen fibrils.
55

Hatching a New Model for Biomineralization

SMFM is an atomic force microscopy-based technique in 

which a cantilever with a superfine tip just 40 nanometers 

wide is stuck into the soft material being studied. The tip is 

then vibrated to measure the stiffness of the material, and 

thus whether or not mineralization occurred on the protein 

fibers.

The group found that the calcium carbonate stiffened only 

the organized protein fibers, without affecting the unorganized regions between them. This demonstrates that mineralization requires structural organization of the protein in 

order to function, DiMasi said.

“It’s exciting that there’s a demonstration of disorganized 

and organized proteins side by side in the same exact environment,” DiMasi said. “Any other experiment would have 

just inferred that an organized protein structure was necessary to nucleate, but there’s never been a comparison like 

this between disorganized and organized protein.”

Besides the actual results, the setup of the experiment itself, including the model system and the SMFM technique, 

provides valuable information for the scientific community 

– and not just to study eggs.

“This looks like a really good model system,” DiMasi said. 

“Now one could take collagen and calcium phosphate and 

study bone nucleation or any other number of things. It just 

looks like a really good platform.”

Other scientists involved in the study are Seo-Young 

Kwak (NSLS); Karthikeyan Subburaman, Nadine Pernodet, 

Shouren Ge, Vladimir Zaitsev, Xiaolan Ba, and Miriam Rafailovich (Stony Brook University); and Nan-loh Yang (City 

University of New York).

This research was funded by the National Science Foundation Materials Research and Engineering Centers and the 

Brookhaven National Laboratory-Stony Brook University 

Seed Grant Program.

K. Subburaman, N. Pernodet, S. Kwak, E. DiMasi, S. Ge, V. Zaitsev, X. Ba, N. 

Yang, M. Rafailovich, “Templated Biomineralization on Self-Assembled 

Protein Fibers,” Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 103: 14672-14677 (2006).

Science Highlights

Soft Condensed Matter and Biophysics

The idea started with an eggshell and ended with a new 

understanding of how minerals form to build exceptionally strong structures in the bodies of humans and other 

organisms. Biomineralization, the process by which organisms form materials such as bones, mollusk shells, and 

other structures, has captured the attention of scientists for 

years. Finding a way to mimic the properties of these sturdy 

and naturally made materials could lead to the medical engineering of replacement bone, teeth, and cartilage, as well 

as the development of new electronic and industrial materials. Most of the research surrounding biomineralization 

has looked at the multiple processes it involves and the 

diversity of its products. But at NSLS beamline X6B, using 

inspiration from an egg, a team of researchers studied the 

earliest stages of biomineralization to find out what sets 

the process in motion.

A bird’s eggshell is about a half-millimeter of layered calcium 

carbonate crystals, stabilized by a protein matrix. The shell 

forms during just about 12 hours of travel time through the 

bird’s oviduct, an amazing natural feat, said NSLS physicist 

Elaine DiMasi, one of the authors of the biomineralization 

study that was published in the October 3, 2006 edition of 

the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

“It starts as a collagen membrane and goes through a series 

of different fluids with different species in them, and in the 

end, you have this hard mineral,” she said. “We were looking for a system that would mimic some features of that 

eggshell.”

To model extracellular biomineralization, the formation 

of materials on the outside of the cell wall, such as in the 

case of egg shell formation, the research team used a selfassembled protein network with both fibronetin and elastin – major connective tissue components in multicellular 

organisms. These proteins were incubated on negatively 

charged surfaces in two forms: structurally organized fibers and regions with a thin unorganized layer of protein 

wedged in between them. 

After exposing the system to calcium carbonate for a varying set of times, the researchers used a relatively new technique called shear modulation force microscopy (SMFM) 

to compare the response of the two sets of protein fibers. 

54

(a) The sequential mineralization stages of an eggshell. Upon the rough collagen membrane, charged sites of nucleating 

protein are deposited first, then exposed to calcium and carbonate to nucleate crystals. Subsequent chemical species in the 

fluid control the crystal growth and orientation. (b) Scanning electron micrograph of an eggshell membrane at the early stage, 

showing the fibers of collagen and the first nucleated crystals. (Courtesy of J. L. Arias, Universidad de Chile, Santiago Chile). 

Scale bar: 100 microns.

(a) Schematic of the model system showing how thin layer protein and micron fibers are layered upon the silicon wafer/sulfonated polystyrene substrate. (b) AFM image of the network of elastin fibers. Panel 50 microns wide. (c) The eggshell-mimicking result of the experiments shown in an optical micrograph of the elastin network with calcite crystals located at the fiber 

vertices. Panel 200 microns wide.
57

Wave-like Growth of

Self-Assembling SAM Layers

dered and disordered regions became progressively rougher in time. The position of the wavefront is described by a 

relatively narrow interfacial region separating the ordered 

and disordered regions on the substrate that can be determined and tracked by NEXAFS measurements, which provide unique information about the density and ordering of 

the molecules on the surface.

Their results appear in the June 19, 2007 edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

By studying this type of process in detail, as exemplified by 

the NEXAFS study of growth of SAM surface energy gradients, and by simulation studies, the group hopes to obtain 

insights into this fundamental growth phenomenon. This 

project offers the opportunity to compare the growth dynamics of the SAM layers with growth fronts found in numerous other (physical, biological and social dynamics) 

contexts such as crystallization, the polymerization of actin 

and the frontal polymerization of synthetic polymers, the 

spread of diseases, tumor growth, wound healing, and the 

spread of languages and agricultural practices.

Researchers included Jack Douglas, Frederick Phelan, and 

Daniel Fischer (National Institute of Standards and Technology), and Kirill Efimenko and Jan Genzer (North Carolina 

State University). Funding was provided by the National 

Science Foundation.

J. Douglas, K. Efimenko, D. Fischer, F. Phelan, J. Genzer, “Propagating 

Waves of Self-assembly in Organosilane Monolayers,” Proc. Natl. Acad. 

Sci., 104: 10324-10329 (2007).

Science Highlights

Soft Condensed Matter and Biophysics

By studying the problem of how a layer of molecules selfassembles into surface energy gradients on a silicon wafer, 

scientists at North Carolina State University working with 

colleagues from the National Institute of Standards and 

Technology have gained basic insight through high-resolution x-ray measurements taken at the NSLS. Wavefronts 

associated with reaction–diffusion and self-assembly processes are ubiquitous in the natural world. Although it is 

often claimed that self-sustaining or autocatalytic front 

propagation is well described by models, it has become apparent that fluctuation effects in lower spatial dimensions 

can lead to appreciable deviations from the classical meanfield theory (MFT) of this type of front propagation. The researchers’ work explores these fluctuation effects in a real 

physical system.

At NSLS beamline U7A, the researchers used high-resolution near-edge x-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy 

(NEXAFS) to study the spontaneous frontal self-assembly 

of organosilane molecules into self-assembled monolayer 

(SAM) surface-energy gradients on oxidized silicon wafers. 

They found that upon exposure of the wafer to a volatile 

source of the organosilane molecules placed to the side of 

the wafer in a closed container, a carpet-like layer spontaneously organizes from the edge of the wafer, where the 

organosilane concentration is initially higher. This self-assembly process advances from the wafer edge at a constant 

velocity, ultimately covering the surface at long times. 

By using x-ray measurements in combination with a computer simulation study, the researchers found that simple 

diffusion is not the process by which these SAM surface 

energy gradients fronts organize, as people had formally 

assumed. Instead, the interface region separating the or-

56

Schematic illustration of the formation of self-assembled 

monolayer (SAM) surface energy gradients. Semifluorinated chlorosilane molecules are mixed with paraffin oil 

to control the rate of organosilane evaporation and this 

mixture is placed in a small container positioned at the 

edge of a silicon wafer subjected to a UV-ozone treatment. The evaporated chlorosilane molecules deposit on 

the wafer where the ordering process initiates from the 

edge of the wafer where the concentration is higher. The 

deposition is performed in a “confined” geometry (covering the OS source and wafer by a Petri dish).

Jan Genzer (left), Kirill Efimenko (top), and Dan Fischer

Jack Douglas Frederick Phelan
59

Spreading and Surface Freezing of

Nanometer-Thick Oil Films on Water 

moment you drop a little bit of soap, which is a surfactant, 

on the plate, the oil droplets vanish: they spread out on the 

water’s surface and also mix with the bulk.”

On a much smaller scale than the kitchen sink, the research 

group determined that while an alkane won’t naturally 

spread on water, a small amount of CTAB causes it to form a 

single liquid alkane layer on the surface. After the material 

is cooled past a certain point, the liquid layer turns crystalline. The type of crystal formed depends on whether the 

alkane chain is longer or shorter than the CTAB molecule’s 

hydrocarbon tail. Using surface x-ray scattering techniques 

at NSLS beamline X22B, the researchers determined that 

if the alkane chain is shorter than the surfactant’s tail, the 

liquid surface monolayer becomes a solid monolayer. If the 

alkane chain is longer, two layers form: an upper crystalline 

layer on top of a lower liquid one. Until now, this type of 

behavior has not been observed in any system.

Their results were published in the September 28, 2007 edition of Physical Review Letters.

“In forming these phases, spreading the oil on water and 

causing it to freeze as a monolayer or a double layer, we 

are doing nothing but self-assembly: we ‘encourage’ the 

molecules to self-organize by creating an environment 

that favors a particular phase,” said Brookhaven physicist 

Ben Ocko. “We can fine tune the structure through the type 

of oil and surfactant used, and of course, the temperature. 

This is an exciting new system that certainly holds more secrets to be discovered and surprises to stumble upon. We 

are working hard to uncover the former, and keeping our 

eyes open for the latter.”

Other researchers involved included Zvi Sapir and Lilach 

Tamam (Bar Ilan), and Qunfang Lei and Katharine Wilkinson 

(Oxford). Funding was provided by the U.S. Department of 

Energy and the U.S.-Israel Binational Science Foundation.

E. Sloutskin, Z. Sapir, C. Bain, Q. Lei, K. Wilkinson, L. Tamam, M. Deutsch, 

B. Ocko, “Wetting, Mixing and Phase Transitions in Langmuir-Gibbs 

Films,” Phys. Rev. Lett., 99: 136102 (2007).

Science Highlights

Soft Condensed Matter and Biophysics

Most kindergarteners can tell you that no matter how hard 

you try to mix them, a droplet of oil won’t spread on water. 

However, things are different in the nano world. Recently, 

a team of researchers from Durham and Oxford universities 

in the United Kingdom, Bar-Ilan University in Israel, and BNL 

used x-ray experiments at the NSLS to show that a nanometer-thick layer of oil can be induced to spread on the 

surface of water by a minute amount of an additive called 

surfactant. More intriguing, these layers exhibit a very peculiar behavior known as the surface freezing effect. 

“Surface freezing is unusual because in most situations, the 

bulk of a material freezes before the surface,” said Bar-Ilan 

physicist Moshe Deutsch. “You can think of it as a crowd of 

people standing at a concert. The people in the center are 

more limited in movement than the people positioned on 

the outside, and therefore, they’ll order first. Yet, if you replace the people with molecules, the surface freezing we’ve 

observed in liquids is exactly the opposite: the molecules at 

the boundary order (or freeze) first while the bulk remains 

liquid.” 

Among other applications, understanding surface freezing 

could be valuable to improving the function of diesel engines, which at cold climates, might be effected by the way 

oil is injected into the motor. 

“It’s such an unusual effect, and we still don’t fully understand how it happens,” said researcher and Durham University chemist Colin Bain.

To gain a better understanding of this phenomenon, the 

researchers put a drop of a liquid oil called alkane onto the 

surface of water containing a minute concentration of the 

surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB). This 

is not so different than making salad dressing by adding oil 

to vinegar – two liquids that don’t naturally mix.

“If you take an oily plate and fill it with water, you’ll notice 

these little droplets of oil on the surface,” said Harvard physicist Eli Sloutskin, who took part in the study as a graduate 

student at Bar-Ilan. “The oil droplets won’t spread. But the 

58

Molecular interpretations of the different phases of the alkane film on the CTAB-decorated 

water surface.

From left, Lilach Tamam, Ben Ocko, and Moshe Deutsch Eli Sloutskin

Colin Bain
61

Year in Review

60

NSLS and NSLS-II staff gather at the Light Sources Directorate Annual Awards Barbeque.
In Memoriam: Jamshed “Jim” Patel

Advanced Light Source user Jamshed (Jim) Patel, who played a large 

role in the history of the NSLS, dies at the age of 81. Patel was an initial 

investigator for one of the NSLS Bell Labs beamlines that were conceived and constructed during the 1980s – X15A.

NSLS Users Present Energy Research at ACS Meeting

Two NSLS users – Brookhaven chemists Radoslav Adzic and Jose Rodriguez – present their research on fuel cells and energy production at 

the 233rd National Meeting of the American Chemical Society. Adzic 

described his research on stabilizing platinum electrocatalysts for use in 

fuel cells while Rodriguez described how copper can be substituted for 

gold in reactions that keep fuel cells functioning longer while eliminating unwanted byproducts.

Á Webconference 

Brings the Beamline

to the Classroom

About 65 students from the 

Paul J. Gelinas Junior High 

School and Sayville High 

School participate in an environmental experiment via 

webconference at NSLS microprobe beamline X27A. The 

project analyzed soil samples 

collected near a deck built 

with chemically treated wood.

APS Meeting: Unlocking the 

Secrets of High-temperature 

Superconductors Ë

Three Brookhaven physicists, including 

NSLS user Christopher Homes, discuss 

their most recent findings about the 

copper oxide superconductor LBCO 

at the March meeting of the American 

Physical Society in Denver, Colorado. 

Homes discussed what is known as the 

LBCO 1/8 doping, a state at which the 

material’s superconductivity mysteriously disappears.

63

Year in Review

Mar Apr

RapiData 2007 Brings Future Crystallographers to NSLS

For the ninth year in a row, about 50 scientists from around the world 

gather at the NSLS for RapiData 2007, a crash course designed to introduce participants to the best and latest equipment and techniques for 

macromolecular x-ray crystallography.

X6A Workbench Returns Ë

After many requests from the 

structural biology community,

the X6A workbench series

returns with a four-day course 

hosted by the NIGMS facility at 

the NSLS. Six young researchers attended the workshop

for hands-on training in synchrotron data collection and analysis.

NSLS Sons, Daughters Uncover Mysteries of Diffraction Í

As part of the national “Take Our Daughters and Sons to 

Work Day,” about 30 

children of NSLS users and staff visit the 

Lab to learn about 

light sources and the 

importance of diffraction studies to the 

science performed 

on the experimental 

floor. 

È Richard Biscardi, Zhong Zhong

Recognized at BNL Award Ceremony

Two NSLS employees – Richard Biscardi and Zhong Zhong – are honored at the Fiscal Year 2007 BNL Employee Recognition Award Ceremony. Biscardi, chief electrical engineer for the NSLS, received one of five 

Engineering Awards, while Zhong, an NSLS physicist, received one of 

five Science & Technology Awards.

NSLS Users Receive Prestigious Honors Í

Numerous users are honored for scientific achievement, including: 

Noel Clark and Chris Miller, who were among 72 new members elected 

to the National Academy of Sciences; Cold Spring Harbor researcher 

Leemor Joshua-Tor, who won the 2007 Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin 

Award, given at the 7th European Symposium of The Protein Society, 

for her outstanding achievements in protein structure-function relationships; and Yale biophysicist Thomas Steitz, who received one of the 

five 2007 Gairdner International Awards along with Harry Noller, of the 

University of California, Santa Cruz, for work that led to the identification 

of the detailed structure and function of the ribosome.

Jan Feb

“This is the best learning 

experience I’ve had from 

start to finish.”

- Kelly Jamieson, New York University graduate student and 

X6A Workbench participant

62
65

Year in Review

Jul Aug

NSLS Hosts Historically Black Colleges

and Universities Professors’ Workshop

A Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Professors’ Workshop is held at the NSLS, linking 11 professors from nine institutions 

with the tools to become successful synchrotron users. The workshop 

resulted in the formation of an HBCU User Consortium that will encourage further involvement at the NSLS and Brookhaven.

CD-1 Status Awarded to NSLS-II Project

at First Users Workshop

More than 450 participants in the Users Workshop for the National 

Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II) are among the first to hear that 

the project had been awarded “Critical Decision One.” Pat Dehmer, Director of the Department of Energy’s Office of Basic Energy Sciences, 

made the dramatic announcement during the plenary session of the 

workshop, which included project updates, talks, and technique- and 

science-based breakout sessions.

NIST Receives $5 Million Funding

Increase for Synchrotron Research

As part of the American Competitiveness Initiative, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announces that it will expand 

upon its synchrotron research capabilities, primarily at the NSLS, with a 

$5 million funding increase.

Á Over 700 Visitors

Drawn to NSLS Summer 

Sunday for Demos, Tours

More than 700 community members flock to the NSLS Summer 

Sunday to learn about everything 

from spectroscopy to space dust. 

Visitors participated in 14 handson displays, listened to introductory science lectures, and had the 

opportunity to win a tour of the 

experimental floor.

NSLS Hosts 17 Summer Students È

Seventeen high school and college students performed summer research projects at the NSLS, working with scientists and engineers from 

the department in research fields ranging from medical sciences to 

electrical and mechanical engineering. Students also had the opportunity to attend scientific lectures, tour Brookhaven’s research facilities, 

and participate in social activities.

ACS Meeting: Using Life’s 

Building Blocks to Control 

Nanoparticle Assembly Ë

NSLS user Mathew Maye, a chemist in Brookhaven’s Center for 

Functional Nanomaterials, presents the latest findings in DNA 

self-assembly at the 234th National Meeting of the American 

Chemical Society. Using DNA, 

Maye and fellow researchers 

are studying how to control the 

speed of nanoparticle assembly 

and the structure of its resulting 

nanoclusters. 

May Jun

64

Inaugural Julian Baumert Ph.D. Thesis Award

Goes to Benjamin Hornberger

NSLS user and Stony Brook University graduate, Benjamin Hornberger, 

receives the first Julian Baumert Ph.D. Thesis Award, which was established in memory of Julian David Baumert, a young Brookhaven physicist and NSLS user who died in June 2006.

2007 NSLS-CFN Joint Users’ Meeting

The second joint meeting of the NSLS and Center for Functional Nanomaterials user communities stressed the importance of NSLS-II to the 

Lab’s research synergy. Plenary session speakers included BNL Director Sam Aronson, U.S. Department of Energy’s Director of Basic Energy 

Sciences Pat Dehmer, Associate Laboratory Director for Light Sources 

Steve Dierker, CFN Director Emilio Mendez, and NSLS Chair Chi-Chang 

Kao.

NSLS Hydrogen Research Projects Receive DOE Funding

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Basic Energy Sciences awards 

$11.2 million for 13 hydrogen research proposals, including two projects to take place, in part, at the NSLS. One study seeks to better understand and improve the performance of nanocatalysts for a process 

known as the “water-gas shift reaction” and the other tackles the hydrogen storage issue through investigating ammonia borane.

BioCD-2007: Circular Dichroism

Spectroscopy of Proteins and Nucleic Acids

A weeklong workshop on ultraviolet (UV) circular dichroism (CD) brings 

14 students to the NSLS. UV CD is particularly useful for studying the 

structure of proteins, DNA, RNA and other biopolymers in solution, and 

this was a major focus of the workshop.

Crystallization Workshop: Five Years and Growing Í

More than 40 researchers travel across the 

country and the world 

to learn tricks of the 

trade from protein 

crystallography leaders 

at the “Crystallization: 

Focus on Membrane 

Proteins” workshop, 

the fifth annual course 

of its type.

Á Heese Receives

2007 UEC Community 

Service Award

Richard Heese, a senior scientist at BNL in the Operations 

Division of the NSLS, receives 

the 2007 NSLS Users’ Executive Committee Community 

Service Award for service, innovation, and dedication to NSLS 

users.

COMPRES Beamlines 

Receive 5-Year

Funding Renewal Ë

Funding for the Consortium 

for Materials Properties Research in Earth Sciences is 

renewed through the National Science Foundation 

with a five-year, $11.5 million cooperative agreement 

that includes more than $4 

million for the operation 

of NSLS beamlines X17B2, 

X17B3, X17C, and U2A. 

“There are opportunities that come to only a 

very few people in the right place at the right 

time. The place is here, the time is now.”

- Pat Dehmer, DOE’s Director of Basic Energy Sciences

and NSLS-II Users’ Meeting Workshop speaker
67

Year in Review

Nov Dec

Microgrid Allows Simultaneous 

Study of Multiple Variables Ë

At the NSLS, Brookhaven scientists 

develop a method for correlating the 

results of microscopic imaging techniques in a way that could lead to 

improved understanding, diagnosis, 

and possibly treatment of a variety of 

disease conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease. The Laboratory filed a U.S. 

provisional patent application for the 

invention.

È Department of Energy Grants

CD-2 Status to NSLS-II Project

The U.S. Department of Energy grants “Critical Decision 2” (CD-2) status 

to the National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II). This decision approves the facility’s performance baseline based on preliminary design, 

signifying a major step forward in the process to make the state-of-theart research complex a reality.

Physicists Vivian Stojanoff,

Timur Shaftan Awarded Tenure Í

Light Source Directorate researchers Timur Shaftan and Vivian Stojanoff are two of six Brookhaven scientists granted tenure in 2007 by 

Brookhaven Science Associates. Shaftan was awarded for his research 

on electron beams in accelerators for synchrotron radiation and freeelectron laser sources, and Stojanoff was appointed based on her development of new approaches to characterize the quality of macromolecular crystals and mitigate their radiation damage.

Sep Oct

66

È A Course on Quantitative Hard X-Ray

Micro-Fluorescence Imaging

Twenty-one graduate, postdoctoral, and research scientists come to 

the NSLS for a series of hands-on tutorials and research-based talks outlining the necessary techniques and analysis tools for unraveling and 

quantifying micro-fluorescence data from synchrotron facilities.

Staff Reflects on Successful Year at

Light Source Directorate Barbeque

With sunny skies and tables full of food, employees gather around BNL’s 

picnic area for the Light Sources Directorate Annual Awards Barbeque. 

NSLS Chair Chi-Chang Kao and Steve Dierker, Associate Laboratory Director for Light Sources, hosted the end-of-year celebration to honor 

NSLS and NSLS-II employees for another year of smooth and productive 

operation.

NSF Awards $550,000 for

NSLS X-Ray Spectroscopy Detector

The National Science Foundation awards $550,000 to develop a new 

silicon detector for x-ray spectroscopy at the NSLS. Proposed by researchers from the New Jersey Institute of Technology, the NSLS, and 

the University of Tennessee, the detector system will produce at least a 

50-fold increase in signal processing capability while maintaining highenergy resolution.

NSLS Web Conference Connects

Cross-Country Schools for Bivalve Study

After collecting sediment, mussels, and oysters from their local waterways, about 200 students and teachers from 10 local and cross-country 

schools participate in a web conference linking scientists at beamlines 

X27A and X26A with the individual classrooms.

Short Course: Applications

of XAFS to Nanocatalysis Science

A short course in x-ray absorption fine-structure analysis is offered at 

the NSLS, tailored to Synchrotron Catalysis Consortium users who have 

recently collected data in systems of relevance for catalysis applications: 

nanoparticles, mono- and bimetallic, supported on different surfaces, 

studied ex situ or in situ.

NSLS Receives NIH Grant for a New

Infrared Imaging Microscope

The NSLS receives a Shared Instrumentation Grant from National Institutes of Health for $296,000 to purchase a state-of-the-art infrared imaging microscope system – a new endstation that will allow for faster 

data collection and improved spatial resolution for numerous studies.

Á 428th Brookhaven 

Lecture: Kenneth 

Evans-Lutterodt

NSLS physicist Kenneth 

Evans-Lutterodt gives the 

428th Brookhaven Lecture, titled “Lighthouses, 

Lightsources and Kinoform 

Hard X-Ray Optics,” about 

an innovative method that 

uses a type of refractive 

lens called a kinoform lens 

to overcome a major x-ray 

focusing obstacle.

“This is a great way for students

to experience big science from 

their classroom.”

- Scott Bronson, Brookhaven’s Office of Educational Programs

administrator and NSLS web conference coordinator
69

Facility Report

Safety

Everyone was busy in 2007 and there was considerable 

Environment, Safety, Health, and Quality (ESH&Q) activity 

throughout the department. A summary of some of those 

activities follows:

An audit of the department’s Integrated Safety Management (ISM) program was completed by the Department of Energy’s Environmental, Safety, Security, and 

Health team. The NSLS scores from that audit were excellent and the department program was recognized 

as the best at the Laboratory. The audit report also 

included some helpful findings and corrective actions 

have begun.

The NSLS maintained independent registration with 

the Environmental Management System (ISO 14001) 

and the Occupational Health and Safety Assessment 

Series (OHSAS) – an important goal for the Laboratory.

Nanoscience work was characterized and the risks presented were evaluated, resulting in a set of control requirements for work involving nanoscale materials at 

the facility. New HEPA-filtered, ventilated enclosures 

were installed for work with nanoscale particulate and 

detailed review of this work was added to the experiment review process and documentation.

Inspection of electrical equipment for compliance 

with Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL) 

requirements was advanced for facility and user equipment. All “high-hazard” equipment was inspected. Engineered corrections for equipment that did not meet 

requirements were developed and implemented.

A gap analysis between department programs and the 

requirements of 10 CFR Part 851 was completed and a 

corrective action plan was established and is in progress.

The NSLS wet chemistry laboratory steward program 

was evaluated and a detailed set of roles, responsibilities, authorities, and accountabilities (R2A2s) was defined.

Several performance measures are tracked to follow the effectiveness of the ESH&Q programs. In 2007: training compliance was excellent and improved from last year; routine 

•

•

•

•

•

•

workplace inspections yielded fewer findings per inspection and correction time was short; numerous internal and 

external audits resulted in few findings and the department 

response was timely and organized; waste generation continued to be low and well managed; personnel exposure to 

chemical and physical hazard was well controlled and well 

below allowable limits; radiation exposure remained very 

low with a measured collective dose of approximately 50 

mRem for the year for some 3,000 personnel monitored; 

there was one “Days Away, Restricted, Transferred” (DART) 

case – a minor elbow injury that resulted in lost days and 

temporary restriction from heavy lifting; and there was only 

one incident that met the BNL criteria for reporting within 

the Occurrence Reporting and Processing System (ORPS). It 

involved a small fire caused by an exhaust fan. There was no 

injury, no significant equipment damage, and no significant 

environmental insult, and it yielded some valuable lessons 

that were disseminated throughout the community.

There is more to report, but the summaries above provide a 

good overall picture of the department activity and performance in ESH&Q. There is much reason for pride in staff and 

user attention to keeping the facility a safe place to work. 

Good performance indicators and well-managed programs 

are important, but what is most important is that we completed an enormous amount of science last year without 

significant injury or environmental insult.

NSLS Integrated Safety Management Audit Scores

Andrew Ackerman

Environment, Safety, Health, and Quality Division Head

68

“Everyone is asked to 

help by continuing to 

do great science while

a s s u r i n g t h e n e e d e d

emphasis on personnel 

safety and on protection 

of the environment.”
71

Facility Report

This year has been a very busy one for the NSLS staff. A lot 

of improvements have been made in the injection system, 

which reduces the amount of time spent injecting beam 

while maximizing the beam time available to our users. 

Progress has also been made on the safety front, with the 

finalizing of personal protective equipment (PPE) requirements and large steps made in the Electrical Equipment 

Inspection (EEI) program. Finally, the installation of the X9 

insertion device and beamline, dedicated to studies in the 

field of nanotechnology at Brookhaven’s Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN), takes center stage as our top 

priority for 2007 and 2008.

For the 2007 calendar year, the Vacuum Ultraviolet (VUV) 

reliability was 98.5% with 5,682 hours of beam time delivered to its users, while X-Ray reliability came in at 96.1% 

and 4,961 hours delivered to the users. High reliability can 

only be accomplished through the hard work and dedication of our staff members, who need to be thanked for this 

outstanding achievement.

Overall Facility Progress

The Department of Energy (DOE)-mandated EEI program 

ensures that electrical equipment is free from reasonably 

foreseeable risks due to electrical hazards through inspections conducted by Laboratory Electrical Safety Committee-approved personnel who work for the NSLS. Priority 

is given to equipment built in-house or built according to 

BNL specifications (categorized as high hazard). Twenty-six 

NSLS staff members are trained EEIs. By the end of September 2007, more than 96% of the listed high-hazard equipment was inspected. This is an ongoing effort and will continue through 2009.

Also regarding safety, an outside expert performed an arcflash study, and calculations for the PPE required for each 

panel installation were completed. Since we posted the 

equipment conservatively prior to having the completThe Accelerator Complex

ed calculations, many of our electrical installations were 

posted with relaxed PPE requirements. Since this will ease 

requirements for electricians to reset some breakers and 

switches, facility and beamline downtime will be reduced 

to some degree. PPE requirements were also relaxed with 

the installation of five remote motor control starters on 

utilities pumps. This effort will minimize arc flash risk and 

eliminate the need for “bee-keeper” PPE when actuating 

high-power breakers and switches because these switches 

may now be actuated at a safe distance.

A project began to build an automated liquid nitrogen (LN2) 

fill system, which will more safely deliver LN2 to beamlines 

while significantly reducing staff time needed for filling 

dewars. The automated system will fill dewars with LN2 and 

shut off automatically when full. The necessary hardware 

needed to upgrade the existing LN2 fill system to the new 

automated system was identified and ordered and a phase 

separator system was ordered to upgrade the LN2 delivery 

system. This phase separator system will decrease gaseous 

nitrogen pressure fluctuations and more efficiently and 

safely provide nitrogen to NSLS users. Installation will continue into 2008.

The last item to mention regarding overall facility improvement is the Automated Process and Control Software 

(APACS). This software was installed on a dedicated utilities systems computer and will provide accurate control 

and faster troubleshooting for NSLS (high pressure copper, 

low pressure copper, experimental, and aluminum) cooling 

water systems. This software collects input from numerous sensors so that corrective actions can be determined 

remotely.

Injection System

We continued to improve the injection system diagnostics this year. After the wall current monitor (WCM) was 

installed at the entrance of the Booster-to-X-Ray transport 70

James B. Murphy

Deputy Chairman for Accelerators and Operations

“High reliability can only be 

accomplished through the 

hard work and dedication 

of our staff members, who 

need to be thanked for this

outstanding achievement.”
73

Facility Report

line, the strong noise signal from the neighboring septa 

was largely removed by a calibrated high-pass filter so that 

in conjunction with the WCM at the end of the transport 

line, the efficiency from Booster to the transport line and 

the efficiency of the transport line can be monitored and 

tuned up separately. We made significant progress in developing diagnostics software, improving the frame grabber 

and Booster performance monitor programs. The MatLab 

program to capture and process video images of any beam 

flag in transfer lines was completed. The program provides 

a function to chart the beam parameters against any of the 

control devices used to tune the beam in transfer lines, and 

it was compiled into stand-alone executables readily available for the operators.

The beam-position monitor commissioned last year called 

“Orbtrak” had a new PC interface-based analog-to-digital 

converter card installed to replace the oscilloscope and a 

MatLAB routine was written to read the digitizer in real time 

for post processing. The synchrotron radiation monitor image acquisition and processing system were routinely used 

to obtain the beam intensity, size, and position through the 

Booster ramp.

Two horizontal pick-up electrodes, one on the X-Ray extraction section and the other on the UV extraction section, 

were revived so that we can measure the beam orbit at the 

X-Ray extraction section and UV extraction section simultaneously. We developed a multiwavelength anomalous diffraction model including the backleg windings, which are 

used to distort the beam orbit very close to the extraction 

septum. The model agrees with the experiment within 5%, 

and it’s in the process of being used to optimize the extraction process.

Based on the input of the newly developed model, an active study program of the injection system was conducted. 

Extraction parameters have been optimized to increase 

injection efficiency into the X-Ray Ring, which reduces the 

time spent injecting into the storage rings and allows for 

more operation time. 

A project to upgrade the kicker drivers for BXESH1, the Linac-to-Booster Injection Septum (LBISH), and two Boosterto-VUV Extraction septa (BUESH1 and 2) also is in progress. 

These magnets require thousands of amps in pulses of several tens of microseconds in length to generate the fields 

of a few kilogauss to deflect the electron bunches into the 

booster synchrotron and out of the booster into the extraction transport lines. The new design will provide improved 

operation as well as improved serviceability, which will reduce downtime due to component failures. BXESH1 and 

LBISH construction is on schedule for installation during 

the spring 2008 machine shutdown.

Further safety improvements include the completion of the 

Safety System Power Supply Interface project, which turns 

off the booster main magnet power supplies when ring security is broken. A system also was installed in the booster 

security system to indicate when all magnet power supplies 

are in an off condition. The system will not permit access to 

the area if all supplies are not reading off.

VUV Ring

A double slit interferometric setup to measure vertical beam 

size in the U3B diagnostic beamline has been implemented 

and tested (Figure 1). This has an advantage over the conventional synchrotron light imaging from a bend magnet 

(such as the Spiricon system at U5) in that it can work at low 

beam energy and measure very small beam sizes. This system will serve as a prototype for a future vertical beam size 

measurement during X-Ray Ring injection, which we don’t 

have at present. Several repairs also were made in the VUV 

Ring, including an emergency repair to the U13 safety shutter and a VUV beam scraper vacuum leak.

The Accelerator Complex

72

Figure 2 (above)

X28 pinhole camera image before (left) and after coupling 

correction.

Figure 1

U3B double-slit interferogram (skew quad off). Relative 

depth of interference fringes and imaging optics parameters 

result in the vertical beam size of 110 um.

Figure 3 (left)

X9 undulator mechanical assembly in progress.
75

Facility Report

The Accelerator Complex

Source Development Laboratory

The Source Development Laboratory (SDL) is a linear accelerator and laser-based R&D facility dedicated to the 

exploration of new radiation sources and high-brightness 

electron beams. In 2007, the scientific program emphasized 

three key themes:

High-Gain Laser-Seeded Free Electron Laser

(FEL) Amplifiers

High-Intensity Terahertz (THz) Radiation

Ultrafast Electron Diffraction

The high-gain laser-seeded FEL amplifier program, at a 

wavelength of λ = 800 nm, is funded by the Office of Naval 

Research. Researchers developed two schemes to increase 

the efficiency of conversion of electron kinetic energy to 

FEL light: electron energy detuning and undulator tapering. The two schemes provided a doubling and tripling, respectively, of the FEL efficiency. (X. Wang et al., “Efficiency 

Enhancement Using Electron Energy Detuning in a Laser 

Seeded Free Electron Laser Amplifier,” Appl. Phys. Lett., 91: 

181115 (2007).)

Record-high intensity THz radiation (100 μJ/pulse) was 

generated from transition radiation by colliding the intense electron bunches (500 pC in 1 psec) at the SDL with 

an aluminum mirror. The THz radiation properties were explored using electro-optical techniques and exciting new 

nonlinear cross phase modulation of the titanium-sapphire 

laser probe pulse was observed. (See page 32 for the science 

highlight about this work).

The laser-seeded radio frequency (RF) photoinjector developed at the NSLS is serving as the nucleus of a new ultrafast electron diffraction source under development in 2007. 

This novel source will provide ultrashort electron bunches 

(~100 femtoseconds) containing 105 electrons at energies 

of 1-4 MeV to make time-resolved diffraction studies of gases and thin films possible.

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74

X-Ray Ring

MATLAB and Middle Layer software packages used for measurements and control of beam properties in both rings 

have been upgraded for improved functionality. A new 

lattice with reduced sextupole strength and a lower emittance coupling ratio was established and put into regular 

operations in spring 2007 (Figure 2).

During the winter 2006-07 shutdown, all X9 front-end 

components and the dipole chamber were removed, and 

the new dipole vacuum chamber with the 0° port for an 

X9 undulator beamline was installed. A new front end was 

designed for the higher undulator heat loads and unique 

needs (e.g. no Be window) of the X9 undulator and beamline. The water-cooled aperture, water-cooled mask, fast 

valve, front end vacuum valve, two ion pumps, the safety 

shutter and all related stands were installed during the winter 2007-08 shutdown in preparation for the final installation during the spring 2008 shutdown.

As part of the overall X9 mini-gap undulator (MGU) installation, the vacuum chamber was vented and an upstream 

pick-up-electrode (PUE) was welded in place during the 

winter 2007-08 shutdown. (The downstream PUE was installed in an earlier shutdown). These PUEs feed horizontal 

and vertical position data to the X9 Active Interlock system. 

An Active Interlock system will protect the vacuum pipe 

and is critical for operation of the MGU, which produces 

energies capable of damaging the vacuum pipe. This PUE 

installation ended in a carefully orchestrated bake-out of 

1.5 superperiods, which included four delicate ceramic vacuum chamber pieces. Thanks to this careful planning, the 

ceramic pieces suffered no damage.

Several major components of the X17 cryogenic system 

were rebuilt, repaired, or replaced. The components include the refrigerator/liquifier (rebuilt), one helium compressor (repaired), and an oil cooler (replaced). Leaks in 

several locations were identified and repairs were made as 

necessary.

Insertion Devices

The new in-vacuum MGU for the planned CFN beamline at 

X9 is under construction. The X9 MGU, like its predecessor 

at X29, has a magnetic array about 36 cm long, and a magnetic period of 14.5 mm (compared to 12.5 mm for X29). 

The flange-to-flange length is also 100 cm and it will fit between the two radio frequency accelerating cavities in the 

X9 straight. This device is designed to produce a peak field 

of 1.25 Tesla at the minimum gap of 3.3 mm, giving a tuning range of 2.2–4.5 keV at the fundamental. With a significant 2nd harmonic and the usual odd harmonics (up to the 

9th), this device will provide full-spectrum coverage from 

2.2 to 20 keV and beyond. The mechanical design of the 

predecessor X29 MGU was revised and upgraded to accommodate the higher magnetic field and the resultant doubling of magnetic forces. Fabrication was done in-house 

(Figure 3).

The magnetic design was optimized for a high-field, hightemperature grade of permanent magnets (NEOMAX 42AH) 

developed for hybrid car motors. Using two magnet arrays, 

populated with sacrificial 42AH samples, we determined 

that a maximum bake temperature of 90° C is adequate. 

Then, the remaining magnets were pre-baked at 90° C, remeasured, and the data was put into the sorting code that 

was developed in-house. Based on the code output, the 

magnets were swapped to minimize the root mean square 

(rms) trajectory error. The magnets were then installed in 

the arrays according to the resulting final sequence and 

subsequent magnetic measurements have shown that the 

final magnet assembly is well within the specifications for 

dipole error as well as the rms phase error, so no further 

adjustments (shimming) will be required. 

Final steps of mechanical assembly, preparation for the 

bakes, and final magnetic measurements are in preparation or underway. The device is on schedule for installation in the X-Ray Ring during the spring 2008 machine 

shutdown.

2007 Machine Activities

Other - Studies, Com/Con, Holiday, Injection, 

Unscheduled , Downtime, Interlock

Maintenance

Unscheduled Operation

Scheduled Operations

VUV-IR

64.8%

8.2%

18.3%

8.7%

X-Ray

56.6%

6.6%

21.2%

15.6%
77

The major activities, projects, and accomplishments of the 

Experimental Systems Division in 2007 are summarized below:

Beamline R&D

The Beamline R&D Section, led by Lonny Berman, was created as part of the April 2007 NSLS reorganization, evolving 

from its predecessor in the previous organization. Probably 

the most visible examples of work involving members of 

the Beamline R&D Section are beamline and endstation 

construction and upgrade projects. One such project, completed in 2007, was the upgrade of beamline X25, whose 

radiation source and beamline optics were replaced to 

optimize them for X25’s macromolecular crystallography 

program. To exploit the radiation properties of its new 

in-vacuum mini-gap undulator, the beamline optics were 

replaced in early 2007. The new optics consist of a double 

silicon crystal monochromator with cryogenic cooling of 

the first crystal and sagittal bending of the second crystal to 

focus the beam horizontally, followed by a bendable mirror to focus the beam vertically. A comparison of the measured spectrum from the undulator, with theory, is shown 

in Figure 1. At a wavelength of 1.1 Å, the beam intensity 

delivered through a 100 μm square aperture at the focal 

position in the X25 hutch increased by a factor of five compared to the old wiggler beamline.

A second major project in 2007 was the construction of the 

new X9 undulator beamline for small angle x-ray scattering 

(SAXS). Jointly developed by the NSLS and the Center for 

Functional Nanomaterials (CFN), X9 is capable of carrying 

out SAXS measurements in both transmission and grazing 

incidence geometry within a wide x-ray energy range from 

2 to 20 keV and spot sizes as small as 10 microns in the sample. Upon completion, X9 will host the SAXS program that 

currently exists at beamline X21 and will provide muchneeded beam time for the life sciences, soft condensed 

matter physics, and nanoscience communities.

Several other projects involving members of the Beamline 

R&D Section were underway in 2007 and will continue in 

2008. These projects, all of which are included in the NSLS 

5-Year Plan, include: replacement of the X7B monochromator with one that is optimized for high x-ray energies and 

will support the new pair distribution function program 

at that beamline; replacement of the X18A monochromator with one that will permit expansion of that beamline’s 

experimental program to include quick extended x-ray absorption fine structure (QEXAFS) and diffraction; and a new 

endstation for beamline X13A that seeks to broaden the 

capabilities of the soft x-ray scattering program by providing a switchable high-field magnet to surround the sample 

and a large scattering angle range for the detector, among 

other things. Many of these projects are led by members 

of the science divisions, and involve participation by members of the Beamline R&D Section.

Optics R&D is an important aspect of the Beamline R&D 

Section’s mission. Two R&D efforts pursued by members of 

the section are of importance for NSLS-II as well as for NSLS. 

One of these is led by NSLS physicist Ken Evans-Lutterodt 

and addresses the design and development of kinoform refractive x-ray lenses for nanofocusing. This R&D has mainly 

been pursued at beamline X13B, where it was proven that 

resolution and aperture restrictions, resulting from the 

critical angle associated with the lens material, can be overcome through implementation of compound lenses, as 

shown in Figure 2. More recently, further optimization of 

these lenses is being conducted and verified through measurements undertaken at Argonne National Laboratory’s 

Advanced Photon Source (APS). The long-term goal of this 

effort is to be able to develop an optic that can focus an xray beam to a dimension of 1 nm, which is one of the major 

goals for NSLS-II. (See page 30 for the science highlight about 

this work).

A second R&D effort, led by NSLS physicist Zhong Zhong, 

addresses the further development of back-reflection 

Facility Report

Experimental Systems

Steven Hulbert

Experimental Systems Division Head

“2007 was a busy and 

p ro d u c t i ve f i rs t ye a r 

fo r t h e n ew l y fo r m e d

Experimental Systems

Division”

76
79

Facility Report

Experimental Systems

wavelength-dispersing analyzer crystals that can be incorporated in optical systems designed to deliver high-energy 

resolution, ultimately, as fine as 0.1 meV. This also is a major 

goal for NSLS-II. The first set of measurements, which were 

done at NSLS beamline X12A in late 2007, resulted in a prototype that demonstrated the concept of wavelength dispersion on which the performance of this device depends. 

The results corroborate with the findings of the pioneer of 

this concept, Yuri Shvyd’ko, who made earlier measurements at the APS. Further R&D work will be carried out in 

2008 to push the limits of the capabilities of such devices, in 

collaboration with members of the NSLS-II Project.

Finally, an important, and rather new, focus of the Beamline R&D Section concerns measuring and ensuring the 

performance of NSLS beamlines. This effort is being coordinated by the newest member of the section, Joe Dvorak. 

Joe will focus his attention on vetting the performances of 

our beamlines and, by working with beamline and accelerator staff, will suggest measures to improve them. This 

is important for keeping NSLS beamlines at state-of-the-art 

performance, for maintaining the NSLS facility metrics, and 

also for judging and ensuring the suitability of beamlines 

for possible transfer to NSLS-II.

Detectors

The mission of the Detectors Section, headed by Peter Siddons, is threefold: to develop and implement new detectors for synchrotron applications, to support these systems 

for beamline use at the NSLS, and to support those systems 

provided to other labs as necessary.

In 2007, the Detectors Section delivered three 80 mm silicon strip detectors, one to Argonne, one to Brookhaven’s 

CFN, and one as a pool instrument for general use (Figure 

3). These detectors are based on an Application-Specific 

Integrated Circuit (ASIC) designed by Gianluigi de Geronimo from BNL’s Instrumentation Division. The strip detector uses 20 of these ASICs to instrument 640 detectors arranged as a row of strips, each 0.125 x 4 mm2

, thus forming 

a one-dimensional position-sensitive detector. Each strip 

can handle up to 105 photons per second, and has an energy resolution of 350 eV at 6 keV. Our project to build a 

large array of such strip detectors for time-resolved powder 

diffraction is mostly designed, but is currently on hold due 

to budgetary considerations. 

We have also continued work on the fast imaging detector 

for the LCLS Ultrafast Science Instruments (LUSI) project. 

LUSI is the beamline portion of Stanford Linear Accelerator 

Center's x-ray free-electron laser project, and these detectors are required to record full 1k x 1k images at 120 Hz, 

with a readout noise level less than one 8 keV photon, and 

a full-well of 104 photons. We are working on two versions 

of the sensor, one fabricated in-house based on junction 

gate field-effect transistor technology, and the other in collaboration with IBM based on metal-oxide semiconductor 

technology. 

We have also made successful tests of a new, very fast, integrated detector and scanning system for x-ray microprobe 

applications. This system makes the collection of megapixel elemental maps quite straightforward, offering 100 times 

faster acquisition than conventional systems, and real-time 

spectral analysis (Figure 4). This work is done in collaboration with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) in Australia. The CSIRO members are responsible for the high-speed computing and the 

NSLS is responsible for the detector and readout electronics. The system is closely integrated with the X-Y scanning 

stage to allow continuous scanning, and the data analysis 

is based on CSIRO physicist Chris Ryan’s Dynamic Analysis 

principle, which essentially eliminates errors arising from 

peak overlap in complex spectra. (See page 42 for the science 

highlight about this work).

78

Figure 1

Measured brightness of the new X25 undulator, compared 

with simulation. From J.M. Ablett and L.E. Berman, Nucl. 

Instrum. Meth. A, 582: 37-39 (2007).

Figure 2

Compound kinoform lenses etched in silicon, which were 

used to demonstrate that the critical-angle-imposed restriction on the resolution and aperture of refractive lenses 

can be overcome. From K. Evans-Lutterodt, A. Stein, J. M. 

Ablett, N. Bozovic, A. Taylor, and D. M. Tennant, Phys. Rev. 

Lett., 99:134801 (2007).

Figure 3

80mm-long silicon strip detector consisting of 640 strips 

0.125 x 4 mm2.

Figure 4

Megapixel elemental map of iron-rich mineral nodules from 

Washington state, measured in a few hours using the new integrated detector and scanning system for x-ray microprobe 

applications.
81

Facility Report

Experimental Systems

Mechanical Systems

The Mechanical Systems Section, led by Ed Haas, provides 

mechanical engineering, design, and technical support 

to all NSLS divisions, both for operations and for projects, 

large and small. Operationally, the Mechanical Systems 

section continued its preventative maintenance and emergency repair efforts on all systems and components in the 

Vacuum Ultraviolet (VUV), Booster, and X-Ray rings with the 

goal of better than or equal to 95 percent reliability of the 

storage rings. As part of this effort, numerous components 

subject to wear and degradation were replaced (hoses, fittings, valves, and connectors), rebuilt (e.g. deionizers), and 

calibrated (e.g. gauges and instruments) during 2007.

NSLS projects for which the Mechanical Systems Section 

provided effort during 2007 are detailed below:

Gamma Source equipment, both inside and outside the XRay Ring shield wall; two projects related to improvement 

of the vacuum measurement systems in the X-Ray Ring and 

front ends; in response to a 2006 Machine Operations and 

Readiness Evaluation recommendation, three spare X-Ray 

Ring ceramic assemblies were fabricated in 2007 for ready 

replacement in case of vacuum failure.

Insertion Devices: Engineering, detailed design, and construction of the X9 mini-gap undulator (MGU) began inhouse in 2007. This effort required a large new engineering 

and design effort owing to the significantly higher magnetic load forces in addition to the difference in period length 

(14.5 mm for X9 compared to 12.5 mm for X29 and X13). 

The X9 MGU development differed significantly from past 

projects because of the temperature-sensitive magnetic 

material, which required much more precise, accurate, and 

reliable control of the magnet temperature during bakeout. This project will extend into 2008, with installation in 

the X-Ray Ring planned for the May 2008 maintenance period. The downstream pick-up electrode (PUE) needed for 

this project was installed during 2006, and preparations for 

installing the upstream PUE occurred in 2007, with installation planned for the December 2007 maintenance period. 

Owing to the age and condition of the X17 cryogenic system, two possible plans for upgrade of this system were 

developed and investigated by the NSLS with assistance 

from Brookhaven’s Superconducting Magnet Division and 

the Collider-Accelerator Department. These two minimalrisk, minimal-cost cryogenic system upgrade plans were 

presented to an X17 Cryogenic System Review committee, 

which included several outside-NSLS reviewers and led to 

recommendation of one of the plans and concurrence with 

the capital and operating costs estimated by the NSLS/BNL 

group. Alternative plans to obtain a new cryo-cooled superconducting wiggler are being investigated, all of which 

would obviate the need for the present X17 cryogenics 

80

plant. In the meantime, the existing X17 cryogenic system 

continues to be maintained. In 2007, several major components of the X17 cryogenic system were rebuilt, repaired, 

or replaced.

Utilities: Automated Process and Control Software was acquired and installed on a dedicated utilities systems computer to provide accurate control and faster troubleshooting for NSLS cooling water systems. This industry-standard 

software collects inputs from numerous temperature, pressure, valve position, and fluid flow sensors so that troubleshooting information can be analyzed and corrective actions determined remotely.

Beamlines

In addition to the mechanical engineering, design, and 

technical development and support for the beamline activities described earlier in this report, an effort was led by 

the Mechanical Section in 2007 to assess all NSLS beamline 

vacuum systems for compliance with the DOE 10CFR851 

pressure safety requirements. This effort included participation in inter-laboratory communication with DOE and 

the submission of an action plan for establishing guidelines 

consistent with these requirements – work which will extend into 2008.

Safety Improvements

The Mechanical Section remains proactively involved in efforts to improve the safety of mechanical systems at NSLS. 

During 2007, these efforts included: installation of five remote motor control starters on utilities pumps to effectively remove arc flash risk to personnel; initiation of an automated liquid nitrogen fill system project to fill users’ dewars 

more safely and efficiently; initiation of a project to develop 

and implement an efficient gaseous nitrogen utility for users, which will decrease pressure fluctuations.

Accelerator

Injection System: We initiated a project to replace four failing ion pumps in the booster ring, and development of a 

plan to add additional shielding (lead and borated polyethylene).

VUV Ring: Repairs were performed on a leaking beam scraper, the U13 safety shutter, and the U15 mask.

X-Ray Ring: A number of activities were performed, including the preparation and installation of a new ring vacuum 

chamber for the new X9 mini-gap undulator (MGU), removal of the old X9 front end components followed by engineering and design of the new front end, and engineering 

and design of the new X9 MGU and beamline; decommissioning, disassembly, and removal of the X5 Laser Electron 

The developers of the fast spectroscopy system: From left, 

Robin Kirkham, Gareth Moorhead, John Kuczewski, Chris 

Ryan, Tony Kuczewski, and Pete 

Siddons.
83

Facility Facts and Figures

As a national user facility, the NSLS operates seven days per 

week, 24 hours per day, except during maintenance and 

studies periods, and does not charge for beam time if the 

research results are published in open literature. Work that 

is proprietary in nature is charged on a full-cost recovery 

basis. Researchers, called “users,” primarily obtain beam 

time by submitting a “General User” (GU) proposal through 

the peer-reviewed proposal system. The proposal is rated 

based on various scientific criteria, and can remain active 

for up to six cycles of operations (or about two years). In 

fiscal year 2007, nearly 1,000 requests for beam time were 

submitted, well over one-third of the requests on new proposals.

The NSLS currently has 51 x-ray and 14 vacuum ultravioletinfrared operational beamlines available for a wide range of 

experiments utilizing many different techniques. There are 

two types of beamlines at the NSLS: Facility Beamlines (FBs), 

of which there are 18; and Participating Research Beamlines 

(PRTs), currently totaling 47. FBs are operated by the NSLS 

staff and reserve a minimum of 50 percent of their beam 

time for GUs. Some FBs also host Contributing Users (CUs), 

who enhance endstation capabilities and provide generalized support to users. PRT beamlines are operated by user 

groups with related interests from one or more institutions. 

PRT beamlines reserve 25 percent of their beam time for 

GUs, although they can grant additional time at their own 

discretion. Membership in a PRT or CU program is open to 

all members of the scientific community who can contribute significantly to the program of the beamline. For example, this can include funding, contribution of equipment, 

scientific program, design and engineering, or operations 

staffing. The following pages detail operational beamlines 

at the NSLS and their unique characteristics.

Throughout calendar year 2007, many visitors attended 

special workshops, short courses, seminars, and tours at 

the NSLS. In all, nine workshops and conferences were 

held, 151 seminars were hosted, and 80 tours of the facility were given. In fiscal year 2007, more than 2,200 users 

representing almost 400 different institutions came to the 

NSLS to conduct their research. Of this number, about 700 

were new users – evidence that the NSLS user community 

continues to grow. About 7 percent of users were from corporate organizations, while the majority continues to come 

from academic institutions.

These users can be characterized by their field of research 

in different ways. The greatest number of users works in 

the life sciences field, while materials sciences studies follow closely. When considering the number of days spent 

on experiments – based on running times gathered from 

experimental Safety Approval Forms – materials sciences 

studies makes up the greatest portion of beam time used. 

About half of our users are U.S. citizens, and more than 25 

percent are women. One-third of our users are from within 

New York State, and almost another third come from locations nearby in the northeastern states.

In 2007, students in undergraduate or graduate studies 

made up more than 40 percent of the researchers working 

at the NSLS. Thirteen percent were post-doctoral researchers, while the remaining researchers were faculty members, 

professional staff, or research scientists.

Breaking last year’s record, NSLS users and staff had 985 

publications in fiscal year (FY) 2007, which ran from October 1, 2006 through September 30, 2007. Of these, about 20 

percent were published in premier journals. A publication 

is considered premier if the journal has an impact factor of 

6 or greater (from Journal Citation Report 2005, Thomson 

Institute for Scientific Information). The table shown in the 

following pages summarizes publications during the past 

year. The first column in the table lists the number of publications reported to the NSLS during FY07 and published 

between 2004 and 2007. Although some of these publications were published earlier than FY07, they were not reported to the NSLS until this fiscal year. Thus, they have not 

been counted in prior years’ reports. The second column in 

the table lists the number of papers published in the 2007 

calendar year and reported to the NSLS as of February 29, 

2008. These numbers are slightly lower than the fiscal year 

values because they contain only publications from 2007, 

and it often takes many months or years to account for user 

and staff publications.

Introduction

82

Kathleen Nasta 

NSLS User Administrator

“2007 was a recordbreaking year with 985

user and staff publications, 

nine conferences and

workshops, 151 seminars,

and 80 tours of the

facility.”
84 85

Facility Facts and Figures

X-Ray VUV-IR

Energy 2.800 GeV 0.808 GeV

Maximum Current 300 mA 1.0 A 

Photon Critical Wavelength

(Energy) for Dipole 1.75 Å (7.1 keV) 19.9 Å (622 eV)

Photon Critical Wavelength

(Energy) for X17 wiggler at 4.2T 0.57 Å (22 keV) 

Horizontal Emittance 62 nm-rad 160 nm-rad

Vertical Emittance 0.34 nm-rad ≥ 0.35 nm-rad (4 nm-rad in normal ops.)

Electron Orbital Period 567.2 nanoseconds 170.2 nanoseconds

Number of RF Buckets 30 9

Typical Bunch Mode 25 7

Natural RMS Energy Spread 9.2 x 10-4 5.0 x 10-4 ( Ib

< 20 mA)

RMS Bunch Length 44 mm 5 cm (Ib

< 20 mA)

X-Ray and VUV-IR Parameters

2007 Publications

Reported in FY07* Published in CY07**

Journals, peer-reviewed, premier 189 195

Journals, other peer-reviewed 646 595

Journals, non peer-reviewed 36 24

Books/Chapters in Books 6 10

Published Conference Proceedings 74 41

Reports: Technical, Formal, Informal 3 5

Theses/Dissertations 25 23

Patents 6 1

Total Publications 985 894

NSLS VUV-IR User Publications 102 97

NSLS X-Ray User Publications 758 669

NSLS Staff Publications 125 128

Total Publications 985 894

* Publications reported to the NSLS from Oct. 1, 2006 - Sept. 30, 2007 and published between 2004 - 2007.

** Publications published in 2007 as reported to the NSLS by Feb. 29, 2008.

Users by Field of Research

Fiscal Year 2007

31%

21%

15%

33%

New York

Northeast

(not New York)

Foreign

Non-Northeast

Geographical User Distribution

Fiscal Year 2007

30%

39%

13%

5%

6% Chemical Sciences

3% - Unknown

Optical/Nuclear/General Phhysics

3% - Applied Science and Engineering

Life Sciences Geosciences and Ecology

Beamtime Used*

Fiscal Year 2007

* Based on running times

from Safety Approval Forms

42%

12%

11%

5%

22%

Optical / Nuclear / General Physics

Applied Sciences & Engineering

Environmental & Geosciences

Materials Sciences

Chemical Sciences - 4% Life Sciences

Other - 4%

73%

9%

7%

7%

DOE Employees (non-BNL) - 2%

BNL Employees

Industry / Corporate

Other Labs & Affiliations

Academic

Users by Affiliation

Fiscal Year 2007

Federal Agencies (non-DOE) - 2%

Materials Sciences
86 87

Facility Facts and Figures

Beamline Source Type of Research Energy Range Type Organization

VUV-IR Beamlines

U1A Bend

XAS

EXAFS

NEXAFS

270-900 eV PRT ExxonMobil Research and

 Engineering Co.

U2A Bend

IRMS

High pressure research

IR spectroscopy

30-8000 cm-1 FB

BNL-NSLS

Carnegie Institution of Washington

COMPRES

U2B Bend IRMS

IR spectroscopy 50-4000 cm-1 PRT Case Western Reserve University

U3C Bend Metrology 50-1000 eV PRT

Lawrence Livermore National

 Laboratory

Los Alamos National Laboratory

National Security Technologies

Sandia National Laboratory

U4B Bend

X-ray scattering, resonant

MCD

UPS

X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy

XPS

20-1200 eV FB BNL-NSLS

Montana State University

U5UA Insertion 

Device

ARPES

UPS, spin-resolved

PEEM

15-150 eV FB BNL-NSLS

BNL-CFN

U7A Bend NEXAFS

XPS 180-1200 eV PRT

BNL-Chemistry

Dow Chemical Company

NIST

University of Michigan

U9B Bend

Time-resolved spectroscopy

UV-CD

UV florescence spectroscopy

0.8 - 8 eV PRT BNL-Biology

U10B Bend IRMS 500-4000 cm-1 FB BNL-NSLS

U11 Bend UV-CD 3-10 eV PRT BNL-Biology

U12A Bend XAS

XPS 100-800 eV PRT Oak Ridge National Laboratory

U12IR Bend

IR spectroscopy

Magnetospectroscopy

THz / millimeter wave spectroscopy

Time-resolved spectroscopy

8-600 cm-1 FB BNL-NSLS

U13UB Insertion 

Device

UPS

ARPES 3-30 eV PRT

Boston College

Boston University

BNL-Physics

Columbia University

Beamline Guide

Diraction

& Scattering 0 20

Macromolecular

Crystallogrophy 0 20

Microspectroscopy 3 8

Spectroscopy 9 10

Other 1 4

Insertion Devices

VUV-IR X-Ray

X-Ray Ring

VUV-IR Ring

U9 B U7 A

U5 UA

U4 B

U3 C

U2 A,B

U1 A

U13 UB

X21

X25

U11

U12 A

U12 IR

U10 B

X1 A1, A2, B

X4 A,C

X6 A, B

X7 B

X8 A, C

X10 A, B, C

X11 A, B

X12 B, C

X13 A, B

X17 B1, B2, B3, C

X14 A

X15 A, B

X16 C X18 A, B

X19 A, C

X20 A, C

X22 A, B, C

X23 A2, B

X24 A, C

X26 A, C

X27 A, B, C

X28 C

X29 A

X3 A, B

X2 B

Diraction

& Scattering 0 20

Macromolecular

Crystallogrophy 0 20

Microspectroscopy 3 8

Spectroscopy 9 10

Other 1 4

Insertion Devices

VUV-IR X-Ray

X-Ray Ring

VUV-IR Ring

U9 B U7 A

U5 UA

U4 B

U3 C

U2 A,B

U1 A

U13 UB

X25

U11

U12 A

U12 IR

U10 B

X1 A1, A2, B

X4 A,C

X6 A, B

X7 B

X8 A, C

X10 A, B, C

X24 A, C

X26 A, C

X27 A, B, C

X28 C

X29 A X3 A, B

X2 B

ARPES UV Photoelectron Spectroscopy, Angle-Resolved SAXS Small Angle X-Ray Scattering

DAFS X-Ray Diffraction Anomalous Fine Structure STXM Scanning Transmission X-Ray Microscopy

DEI Diffraction-Enhanced Imaging UPS UV Potoelectron Spectroscopy

EXAFS X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy, Extended Fine Structure UV-CD Ultraviolet Circular Dichroism

HARMST High Aspect Ratio Microsystems Technology WAXD Wide-Angle X-Ray Diffraction

IRMS Infrared Microspectroscopy WAXS Wide-Angle X-Ray Scattering

MAD Mulit-Wavelength Anomolous Dispersion XAS X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy

MCD Magnetic Circular Dichroism XPS X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy

NEXAFS Near Edge X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy XRD X-Ray Diffraction

PEEM Photo Emission Electron Microscopy XSW X-Ray Diffraction, Standing Waves

Beamline Guide Abbreviations

Beamline Status
89

Beamline Source Type of Research Energy Range Type Organization

X8C Bend MAD

Macromolecular crystallography 5-19 keV PRT

Biogen Incorporated

Biotechnology Research Institute

Hoffmann-La Roche

National Institutes of Health

X10A Bend

XRD, powder

WAXD

SAXS

WAXS

8-11 keV PRT ExxonMobil Research and

 Engineering Co.

X10B Bend

XRD, powder

XRD, surface

WAXD

X-ray reflectivity

X-ray scattering, surface

WAXS

14 keV PRT ExxonMobil Research and Engineering 

Co.

X10C Bend

XAS

EXAFS

NEXAFS

4-24 keV PRT ExxonMobil Research and

 Engineering Co.

X11A Bend

DAFS

XAS

EXAFS

NEXAFS

4.5-35 keV PRT

BNL-Material Sciences

BNL-Environmental Sciences

Canadian Light Source

ETH Labs - Zuerich

Natural Resources Canada

Naval Research Laboratory (NRL)

Naval Surface Warfare Center

New Jersey Institute of Technology

North Carolina State University

Stony Brook University

Sarah Lawrence College

X11B Bend

XAS

EXAFS

NEXAFS

5-23 keV PRT

BNL-Environmental Sciences

BNL-Material Sciences

Canadian Light Source

ETH Labs - Zuerich

Natural Resources Canada

Naval Research Laboratory (NRL)

Naval Surface Warfare Center

New Jersey Institute of Technology

North Carolina State University

Stony Brook University

Sarah Lawrence College

X12B Bend MAD

Macromolecular crystallography 5-20 keV PRT BNL-Biology

X12C Bend MAD

Macromolecular crystallography 5.5-20 keV PRT BNL-Biology

X13A Insertion 

Device

X-ray scattering, magnetic

X-ray scattering, resonant

MCD

0.2-1.6 keV FB BNL-NSLS

X13B Insertion 

Device Microdiffraction Imaging 4-16 keV FB

BNL-NSLS

BNL-CFN

Columbia University

IBM

X14A Bend

MAD

XRD, powder

XRD, single crystal

XRD, time resolved

WAXD

X-ray reflectivity

5-26 keV PRT

New York State College of Ceramics

Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Tennessee Technological University

University of Tennessee

X15A Bend XSW

DEI

3-25 keV XSW

10-60 keV DEI FB BNL-NSLS

Beamline Source Type of Research Energy Range Type Organization

X-Ray Beamlines

X1A1 Insertion 

Device

STXM

NEXAFS 0.25-0.50 keV PRT

BNL-Environmental Sciences

ExxonMobil Research and

 Engineering Co.

SUNY @ Plattsburgh

Stony Brook University

University of Texas @ Houston

X1A2 Insertion 

Device STXM 0.25-1 keV PRT Stony Brook University

X1B Insertion 

Device

X-ray scattering, coherent

XAS

X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy

XPS

0.2-1.6 keV PRT

Boston University

Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator 

Facility

University of Illinois

X2B Bend X-ray microtomography 8-35 keV PRT ExxonMobil Research and

 Engineering Co.

X3A Bend MAD

Macromolecular crystallography 5-15 keV PRT

Case Western Reserve University

Rockefeller University

Sloan-Kettering Institute

X3B Bend XAS

EXAFS 5-15 keV PRT Case Western Reserve University

X4A Bend MAD

Macromolecular crystallography 3.5-20 keV PRT

Albert Einstein College of Medicine

City University of New York (CUNY)

Columbia University

Cornell University

Mount Sinai School of Medicine

New York Structural Biology Center

New York University

SUNY @ Buffalo

Sloan-Kettering Institute

Wadsworth Center

X4C Bend MAD

Macromolecular crystallography 7-20 keV PRT

Albert Einstein College of Medicine

City University of New York (CUNY)

Columbia University

Cornell University

Mount Sinai School of Medicine

New York Structural Biology Center

New York University

Rockefeller University

SUNY @ Buffalo

Sloan-Kettering Institute

Wadsworth Center

X6A Bend MAD

Macromolecular crystallography 6-23 keV FB BNL-NSLS

X6B Bend

XRD, surface

WAXD

X-ray reflectivity

6.5-19 keV FB BNL-NSLS

BNL-CFN

X7B Bend

XRD, single crystal

XRD, time resolved

WAXD

WAXS

5-21 keV PRT BNL-Chemistry

General Electric

X8A Bend Metrology 1-5.9 keV PRT

Bechtel Nevada

Lawrence Livermore National

 Laboratory

Los Alamos National Laboratory

National Security Technologies

Sandia National Laboratory

88
9

091

Beamline Source Type of Research Energy Range Type Organization

X22A Bend

XRD, single crystal

XRD, surface

WAXD

X-ray reflectivity

X-ray scattering, surface

WAXS

10.7 keV

32 keV PRT BNL-ChemistryBNL-CMPMSD

X22B Bend X-ray scattering, liquid 6.5-10 keV PRT BNL-CMPMSD

BNL-CFN

X22C Bend

XRD, single crystal

XRD, surface

X-ray reflectivity

X-ray scattering, magnetic

X-ray scattering, surface

3-12 keV PRT

BNL-CMPMSD

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Rutgers University

X23A2 Bend

DAFS

XAS

EXAFS

NEXAFS

4.7-30 keV PRT NIST

X23B Bend

XRD, powder

XAS

EXAFS

NEXAFS

4-10.5 keV PRT

Hunter College

NIST

Naval Research Laboratory (NRL)

Naval Surface Warfare Center

New Jersey Institute of Technology

Northeastern University

Sarah Lawrence College

X24A Bend

XSW

Auger spectroscopy

EXAFS

X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy

XPS

1.8-5 keV PRT NIST

X24C Bend

X-ray reflectivity

UV absorption spectroscopy

XAS

0.006-1.8 keV PRT

Naval Research Laboratory (NRL)

Universities Space Research

 Association

X25 Insertion 

Device

MAD

Macromolecular crystallography 5-20 keV FB BNL-NSLSBNL-Biology

X26A Bend Microdiffraction Imaging

X-ray microprobe 3-30 keV PRT

BNL-Enironmental Sciences

University of Chicago

University of Georgia

X26C Bend MAD

Macromolecular crystallography 5-20 keV PRT

BNL-Biology

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

Stony Brook University

X27A Bend X-ray microprobe 4.5-32 keV FB

BNL-NSLS

BNL-Enironmental Sciences

Stony Brook University

X27B Bend HARMST 8-40 keV PRT BNL-Nonproliferation & National Security

X27C Bend

XRD, time resolved

WAXD

SAXS

WAXS

9 keV PRT

Air Force Research Laboratory

Dow Chemical Company

National Institutes of Health

Naval Surface Warfare Center

Stony Brook University

X28C Bend X-ray Footprinting White Beam PRT Case Western Reserve University

X29A Insertion 

Device

MAD

Macromolecular crystallography 6-15 keV PRT BNL-BiologyCase Western Reserve University

Beamline Source Type of Research Energy Range Type Organization

X15B Bend

XAS

EXAFS

NEXAFS

0.8-15 keV PRT

BNL-Environmental Sciences

Lucent Technologies, Inc.

Stony Brook University

Temple University

University of Texas @ Austin

X16C Bend XRD, powder 6.5-25 keV PRT Stony Brook University

X17B1 Insertion 

Device XRD, powder 55-80 keV mono20-150 keV white FB BNL-NSLSRutgers University

X17B2 Insertion 

Device

XRD, powder

XRD, time resolved

High pressure research

20-130 keV FB

BNL-NSLS

COMPRES

Stony Brook University

X17B3 Insertion 

Device

XRD, powder

XRD, single crystal

High pressure research

5-80 keV FB

BNL-NSLS

COMPRES

University of Chicago

X17C Insertion 

Device

XRD, powder

XRD, single crystal

High pressure research

5-80 keV FB

BNL-NSLS

COMPRES

University of Chicago

X18A Bend

XRD, powder

XRD, single crystal

XRD, surface

WAXD

X-ray reflectivity

X-ray scattering, surface

WAXS

4-19 keV PRT

BNL-Chemistry

Indiana University @ Bloomington

Pennsylvania State University

Purdue University

Stony Brook University

University of Missouri @ Columbia

X18B Bend

XAS

EXAFS

NEXAFS

4.8-40 keV FB

BNL-NSLS

BNL-Chemistry

BNL-Electrochemistry

ORNL

University of Delaware

UOP LLC

Yeshiva University

X19A Bend

X-ray scattering, resonant

XAS

EXAFS

NEXAFS

2.1-17 keV FB

BNL-NSLS

BNL-Chemistry

BNL-Electrochemistry

ORNL

University of Delaware

UOP LLC

Yeshiva University

X19C Bend

XRD, surface

X-ray topography

X-ray reflectivity

X-ray scattering, liquid

X-ray scattering, surface

6-17 keV PRT

Arizona State University

Fairfield Crystal Technology, LLC

Kansas State University

Kyushu University

SUNY @ Albany

Stony Brook University

University of Illinois @ Chicago

X20A Bend

XRD, single crystal

WAXD

Microdiffraction Imaging

X-ray reflectivity

X-ray scattering, surface

4.5-13 keV PRT IBM Research Division

X20C Bend

XRD, single crystal

XRD, surface

XRD, time resolved

X-ray reflectivity

X-ray scattering, surface

4-11 keV PRT IBM Research Division

X21 Insertion 

Device

XRD, single crystal

X-ray scattering, magnetic

X-ray scattering, resonant

SAXS

5-15 keV FB

BNL-NSLS

Boston University

University of Vermont
9

2

È Users’ Executive Committee

The NSLS consults on a regularly scheduled basis with the Users’ Execu-

tive Committee (UEC). This Committee provides a forum for ongoing, 

organized discussions between representatives from the NSLS user 

community in various research disciplines and the NSLS management, 

administration, and Brookhaven National Laboratory. The purpose is to 

communicate current and future needs, concerns, trends, and to dis-

seminate information about NSLS and BNL future plans.

Chair Daniel Fischer, National Institute of Standards 

and Technology

Vice Chair John Parise, Stony Brook University

Past Chair Chris Jacobsen, Stony Brook University

General Member Peter Abbamonte, University of Illinois @

Urbana-Champaign

General Member Jean Jordan-Sweet, IBM

General Member Joe Dvorak, Montana State University

General Member Howard Robinson, BNL

General Member Peter Stephens, Stony Brook University

Ex-Officio Chi-Chang Kao, NSLS Chair, BNL

Ex-Officio Lisa Miller, NSLS Information and Outreach

Coordinator, BNL

Ex-Officio Kathleen Nasta, NSLS User Administrator, BNL

Special Interest Group Representatives

Special Interest Group (SpIG) Representatives are listed below; these 

groups in areas of common concern communicate with NSLS manage-

ment through the UEC.

Bio. Crystallography 

& Diffraction

Vivian Stojanoff, BNL/NSLS 

High Pressure Baosheng Li, Stony Brook University

Imaging Zhong Zhong, BNL/NSLS

Industrial Users Simon Bare, UOP LLC

Infrared Users Liping Wang, Stony Brook University

Magnetism Cecilia Sanchez-Hanke, BNL/NSLS

NSLS-II John Parise, Stony Brook University

Nuclear Physics Mahbub Khandaker, Thomas Jefferson 

National Laboratory

Students & Post Docs Abdel Isakovic, BNL/NSLS

Time Resolved

Spectroscopy

John Sutherland, BNL/Biology

Topography Michael Dudley, Stony Brook University

UV Photoemission & 

Surface Science

Jeff Keister, SFA, Inc.

XAFS Paul Northrup, BNL/Environmental Sciences

X-ray Scattering & 

Crystallography

Peter Stephens, Stony Brook University

È Scientific Advisory Committee

The NSLS Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) advises the NSLS Chair 

and the Associate Laboratory Director for Light Sources on scientific, 

technical, and policy issues related to the optimization of the scientific 

productivity of the NSLS.

Mario Amzel, Johns Hopkins University

Simon Bare, UOP, LLC

Joel Brock, Cornell University 

Tony Heinz, Columbia University

Robert Hettel, Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory/ 

Stanford Linear Accelerator Center

Eric Isaacs, Argonne National Laboratory

Leemor Joshua-Tor, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

James Kaduk, INEOS Technologies

Edward Kramer, University of California, Santa Barbara

Simon Mochrie, Yale University

James Penner-Hahn (Chair), University of Michigan

William Thomlinson, Canadian Light Source

Daniel Fischer (UEC Chair), National Institute of Standards 

and Technology

Proposal Review Panels

As part of the peer-review process of GU proposals, the Proposal Re-

view Panels (PRPs) at the NSLS review and rate the proposals within 

their scientific area. Members are drawn from the scientific community 

and usually serve a two-year term. Each PRP has an appointed Chair, 

who is part of the Proposal Oversight Panel (POP), established to review 

any proposals that might need special attention due to use of multiple 

techniques or conflicts in scores. The POP has additional appointed 

members, listed below after the PRP membership.

* = Chair of PRP

Imaging and Microprobes: Biological and Medical 

Leroy Chapman, University of Saskatchewan

Max Diem, City University of New York

Paul Dumas, Centre National de La Recherche Scientifique

Kathleen Gough, University of Manitoba

Barry Lai*, Argonne National Laboratory

Carolyn Larabell, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Irit Sagi, Weizmann Institute of Science

Stefan Vogt, Argonne National Laboratory

Imaging and Microprobes: Chemical and Materials Sciences 

Harald Ade*, North Carolina State University

David Black, National Institute of Standards and Technology

Paul Evans, University of Wisconsin

Steve Heald, Argonne National Laboratory

Gene Ice, Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Barry Lai, Argonne National Laboratory

Ismail Noyan, Columbia University

Qun Shen, Argonne National Laboratory

Nobumichi Tamura, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

93

 Imaging and Microprobes: Environmental and Geosciences

Don Baker, McGill University

David Black, National Institute of Standards and Technology

Jeffrey Fitts, BNL

George Flynn, SUNY at Plattsburgh

Matthew Ginder-Vogel, University of Delaware

Keith Jones*, BNL

Lindsay Keller, NASA Johnson Space Center

Kenneth Kemner, Argonne National Laboratory

Mark Rivers, University of Chicago

Donald Ross, University of Vermont

David Wetzel, Kansas State University

IR/UV/Soft X-ray Spectroscopy: Chemical Sciences/Soft Matter/Bio-

physics 

Jingguang Chen, University of Delaware

Daniel Fischer*, National Institute of Standards and

Technology 

Jan Genzer, North Carolina State University

Robert Lodder, University of Kentucky

Gary Mitchell, The Dow Chemical Company 

David Mullins, Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Michael White, BNL

IR/UV/Soft X-ray Spectroscopy: Magnetism/Strongly Correlated Elec-

trons/Surface

Robert Bartynski*, Rutgers University

Hong Ding, Boston College

Di-Jing Huang, Synchroton Radiation Research Center 

Jeffrey Keister, SFA, Inc.

Alexander Moewes, University of Saskatchewan

David Mullins, Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Boris Sinkovic, University of Connecticut

Jiufeng Tu, City University of New York

Tonica Valla, BNL

Barrett Wells, University of Connecticut

Methods and Instrumentation

Leroy Chapman, University of Saskatchewan

Kenneth Finkelstein, Cornell University 

Jeffrey Keister, SFA, Inc.

Albert Macrander, Argonne National Laboratory

Ralf-Hendrik Menk, Sincrotrone Trieste

Peter Takacs*, BNL

Macromolecular Crystallography

Alex Bohm*, Tufts University

Brian Crane, Cornell University

Dax Fu, BNL

Xiangpeng Kong, New York University

Daniel Leahy, John Hopkins University

Nicolas Nassar, Stony Brook University

Brenda Schulman, St. Jude Children’s Research

Peter Stephens, Stony Brook University

DaNeng Wang, New York School of Medicine

Joshua Warren, Duke University

Hao Wu, Cornell University

Powder/Single Crystal Crystallography

Simon Billinge, Columbia University

Andrew Campbell, University of Maryland

Thomas Duffy*, Princeton University

Andrew Fitch, European Synchrotron Radiation Facility

Joseph Hriljac, University of Birmingham

Stefan Kycia, University of Guelph 

Peter Lee, Argonne National Laboratory

James Martin, North Carolina State University

Wendy Panero, Ohio State University

Patrick Woodward, Ohio State University

X-Ray Scattering: Magnetism/Strongly Correlated Electrons/

Surface 

Sean Brennan, Stanford Linear Accelerator Center

Kenneth Finkelstein*, Cornell University

Peter Hatton, University of Durham

Valery Kiryukhin, Rutgers University

Karl Ludwig, Boston University

George Srajer, Argonne National Laboratory

Trevor Tyson, New Jersey Institute of Technology

X-Ray Scattering: Soft Matter and Biophysics 

Masafumi Fukuto, BNL

Randall Headrick, University of Vermont

Paul Heiney, University of Pennsylvania

Ben Hsiao*, Stony Brook University

Huey Huang, Rice University

Robert Leheny, John Hopkins University

H. Miriam Rafailovich, Stony Brook University

Thomas Russell, University of Massachusetts

Detlef Smilgies, Cornell University

Helmet Strey, Stony Brook University

Lei Zhu, University of Connecticut

X-Ray Spectroscopy: Biological, Environmental and Geosciences 

Suzanne Beauchemin, Natural Resources Canada

Martine Duff, Westinghouse Savannah River Company

Dean Hesterberg, North Carolina State University

Douglas Hunter, University of Georgia

Kenneth Kemner, Argonne National Laboratory

Satish Myneni*, Princeton University

Matthew Newville, University of Chicago

James Penner-Hahn, University of Michigan

X-Ray Spectroscopy: Chemical and Material Sciences 

Simon Bare, UOP LLC

Uwe Bergmann, Stanford Linear Accelerator Center

Scott Calvin, Sarah Lawrence College

Anatoly Frenkel, Yeshiva University

Steven Heald, Argonne National Laboratory

Bruce Ravel, Argonne National Laboratory

Jean-Pascal Rueff, Université Paris VI 

Tsun Sham, University of Western Ontario

Trevor Tyson*, New Jersey Institute of Technology

Proposal Oversight Panel Members

Antonio Lanzirotti, University of Chicago

Jonathan Hanson, BNL

Stephen Shapiro, BNL

Peter Stephens, Stony Brook University

Subramanyam Swaminathan, BNL

Advisory Committees

1977

197819791980

1981

1982198319841985

The National SynchrotronLight Source (NSLS)project starts.

Á NSLS groundbreaking

The First Users’ Meeting Ë

Ring assembly begins on the Vacuum Ultraviolet (VUV) Ring floor.

NSLS staff celebrate the first turn of beam around the VUV Ring.NSLS dedication takes place. The NSLS Division also is upgraded to a department.The first Activity Report is distributed.

Á The first x-ray absorption spectrum 

from a copper foil is taken in the X11 hutch with signatures.

A baby mammoth, which

has been frozen in ice for 

40,000 years, is discovered

in the Soviet Union.

Solar One, the world’s

largest solar-power

generating station, goes

into operation, generating

up to 10 megawatts.

Human growth hormone

produced by genetically

engineered bacteria is

made available for treatment of children with

growth problems.

Construction starts on the Linear Accelerator (Linac) to the Booster Ring.

The Linac beamreaches 70 MeV.

The first x-ray is produced. The first test lasts for 1ms on September 4, and for one minute four days later.

First visible light formachine testing emerges from the NSLS VUV Ring. Ë

Groundbreaking takes place for the “Phase II” constructto expand the facility by 52,000 sq ft for new offices, labbeamlines, and room for new experimental equipment

The concept of a high-gain self-amplified spontaneous emission free electron laser is pioneered at the NSLS.

fo
National Synchrotron Light Source

Brookhaven National Laboratory

Upton, NY 11973

www.nsls.bnl.gov