Chapter 2
The Storage Ring Complex
Synchrotron radiation sources are among the largest and most expensive scientific
instruments ever built. At first glance, the scale and complexity of these facilities, as
shown in Figs. 1.6 and 2.1, can be daunting. However, when we look “under the
hood,” we find that they all have the same essential components, and furthermore,
many of these components are repeated over and over again. The key pieces can be
divided into two main categories: radio frequency systems to accelerate the particles
and also to replenish their energy and magnets to bend and focus the charged particle
beams. Of course, there needs to be a charged particle source, a massive vacuum
system to contain the charged particles, and a safety infrastructure to contain and
control the high-energy particles and X-radiation.
Why do we care? In our case of synchrotron spectroscopy:
• The storage ring determines the properties of the particle beam.
• The particle beam sets limits on the properties of the photon beam.
• The photon beam determines how well we can do our experiments.
Most synchrotron radiation sources around the world are based on electron
storage rings. These facilities include not only the storage ring itself but the initial
source of high-energy electrons, invariably a linear accelerator, and often an intermediate device to raise the particle energy, a “booster synchrotron.” A diagram for a
typical storage ring complex is shown in Fig. 2.1.
Although a view of the interior (Fig. 2.1) of a storage ring complex can at first be
bewildering, it becomes understandable if you break it up into smaller components,
many of which are repeated over and over again. We begin the description of a
storage ring at the electron source and then follow the charged particles as they flow
through the complex.
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
S. P. Cramer, X-Ray Spectroscopy with Synchrotron Radiation, Biological and Medical
Physics, Biomedical Engineering, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-28551-7_2
11
The Storage Ring Complex
Synchrotron radiation sources are among the largest and most expensive scientific
instruments ever built. At first glance, the scale and complexity of these facilities, as
shown in Figs. 1.6 and 2.1, can be daunting. However, when we look “under the
hood,” we find that they all have the same essential components, and furthermore,
many of these components are repeated over and over again. The key pieces can be
divided into two main categories: radio frequency systems to accelerate the particles
and also to replenish their energy and magnets to bend and focus the charged particle
beams. Of course, there needs to be a charged particle source, a massive vacuum
system to contain the charged particles, and a safety infrastructure to contain and
control the high-energy particles and X-radiation.
Why do we care? In our case of synchrotron spectroscopy:
• The storage ring determines the properties of the particle beam.
• The particle beam sets limits on the properties of the photon beam.
• The photon beam determines how well we can do our experiments.
Most synchrotron radiation sources around the world are based on electron
storage rings. These facilities include not only the storage ring itself but the initial
source of high-energy electrons, invariably a linear accelerator, and often an intermediate device to raise the particle energy, a “booster synchrotron.” A diagram for a
typical storage ring complex is shown in Fig. 2.1.
Although a view of the interior (Fig. 2.1) of a storage ring complex can at first be
bewildering, it becomes understandable if you break it up into smaller components,
many of which are repeated over and over again. We begin the description of a
storage ring at the electron source and then follow the charged particles as they flow
through the complex.
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
S. P. Cramer, X-Ray Spectroscopy with Synchrotron Radiation, Biological and Medical
Physics, Biomedical Engineering, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-28551-7_2
11