In their ongoing efforts to design the optimal ID device, researchers have developed a number of new devices, including super high field superconducting IDs, extra small gap undulators, and special devices for generating variably polarized radiation. Accelerators are increasingly being used for microelectronic applications. For instance, X-ray lithography is being considered as a promising alternative to the optical lithographic methods currently employed in the semiconductor industry to pattern integrated circuits. However, according to Motorola's William Johnson, circuit feature sizes continue to shrink, and optical lithography may not be capable of patterning them with the process latitude and cost effectiveness required in commercial manufacturing. New X-ray synchrotron storage ring prototypes are currently being developed to produce X rays for research purposes, but these are too large and expensive for commercial use.
Accelerators also find applications in medicine and the biosciences.
For example, more than 16,000 patients in the last 40 years have been treated at accelerator laboratories around the world using radiation therapy with proton and light-ion beams. The beams allow for significantly improved placement of radiation dose in the tumor while sparing normal tissue surrounding it, and the medical community is seeking to expand the number of treatment facilities, with an emphasis on dedicated facilities close to hospital services and resources. According to Vanderbilt's F.E. Carroll, the beams are particularly useful in the diagnosis of breast cancer and the analysis of lung lesions. Furthermore, their use in chemoradiotherapy allows the selective activation of drugs that have concentrated in tumors, and Carroll reported that pilot projects show promise for synergistic local lethal effects in the treatment of breast, liver and brain tumors. The X rays are also being used to design and test new detectors for diagnostic imaging.