Next year the scientists are implementing a new vacuum chamber that will help manufacturers eliminate chip contamination from the laboratory. A robot will load the wafers under the beam, another step expected to limit on-site contamination. Among other health-related applications, synchrotron radiation has been used to understand how muscles contract and how various genetic defects directly relate to cancer. One of the most promising projects under way at SSRL is the study of osteoporosis, the disease characterized by fragile bones that results in fractures to half the women over 70. With traditional methods, researchers need 50 to 100 samples from the same bone mass to get a complete picture of bone density.
Synchrotron radiation allows researchers to gather the same information from a single bone sample.
McSwain's excitement is palpable when he explains the new tool that will be used for looking at molecular structures in the near future. Synchrotron radiation has allowed SSRL to provide extraordinary research tools for scientists from all over the world, but we at SSRL are very excited about the possibility of providing new capabilities to the scientific community.