Synchrotron light source
Electromagnetic radiation is so useful that we can transmit music wirelessly over long distances. It works like a giant microscope, harnessing the power of electrons to produce bright light that scientists can use to study anything from fossils to jet engines to viruses and vaccines. A good way to get high levels of electromagnetic radiation is to use synchrotrons to emit synchrotron radiation from electrons. Labs on five continents are upgrading their storage-ring synchrotrons and free-electron lasers to make their X-ray beams brighter and more adaptable to scientific and medical applications. Synchrotron light is now produced by storage rings and other specialized particle accelerators, typically accelerating electrons. Once the high-energy electron beam has been generated, it is directed into auxiliary components such as bending magnets and insertion devices in storage rings and free electron lasers. These supply the strong magnetic fields perpendicular to the beam which are needed to convert high energy electrons into photons.
Beamlines At a synchrotron facility, electrons are usually accelerated by a synchrotron, and then injected into a storage ring, in which they circulate, producing synchrotron radiation, but without gaining further energy. The radiation is projected at a tangent to the electron storage ring and captured by beamlines. These beamlines may originate at bending magnets, which mark the corners of the storage ring; or insertion devices, which are located in the straight sections of the storage ring.
Undulator These magnetic structures, made up of a complex array of small magnets, force the electrons to follow an undulating, or wavy, trajectory. The radiation emitted at each consecutive bend overlaps and interferes with that from other bends. This generates a much more focused, or brilliant, beam of radiation than that generated by a single magnet. Also, the photons emitted are concentrated at certain energies (called the fundamental and harmonics). The gap between the rows of magnets can be changed to fine-tune the wavelength of the X-rays in the beam.