NSLS-II Seminar

The Diamond Light Source, near Oxford, is the biggest scientific project in the UK for 40 years. It is a third generation machine operating at 3.0 GeV, 300 mA (rising to 500 mA) and with an emittance of 2.7nm-rad. It competes well with other light sources in terms of the number and the brilliance of its undulator sources from 20ev to 25keV. Multipole wigglers extend the energy range to beyond 100keV. Bunch lengths of less than 20 psec have been obtained. Phase I of the construction programme, including the building the machine and 7 beamlines, was completed in 2007. A further 15 beamlines will come into operation by July 2011, and more are proposed for the future. Diamond will be the main SR source to support the UK scientific community in a wide programme of research covering the life, physical and environmental sciences. Macromolecular crystallography is a major area of activity supported by on-site crystal preparation facilities. The high brightness of the insertion device sources will be exploited for high resolution diffraction, coherence studies and imaging. Advanced detectors will enable rapid and reliable data collection, and permit fast temporal monitoring of stress-induced changes and other processes. To maximise the output of the facility, the beamline construction is underpinned by an instrumentation development programme taking advantage of the expertise elsewhere on the Harwell campus. The progress of the project, the planned scientific programme and the opportunities for the future will be described.