APS Upgrade and SEES APS beamlines in 2025

 

This page gives status information on the SEES beamlines at the APS during the APS Upgrade. We intend to make periodic updates here, but there will be many developments in 2025, and some of this information may become out-of-date within a few months. We will try to keep the information here as accurate as we can.

This page was last updated on 6-Feb-2025.

The Advanced Photon Source (APS) has recently undergone a major upgrade (APS-U) that has dramatically enhanced the brightness and coherence of the X-ray source. Commissioning of the new storage ring started in April 2024, and the process of bringing beamlines back online is now underway. You can read more about APS-U at https://www.aps.anl.gov/APS-Upgrade

Return to User Operations

This is based on the current commissioning progress. We are seeing and anticipating a continued gradual return to user operations as individual beamlines and techniques become ready over the course of 2025 and start to do a few user experiments. All APS SEES beamlines are accepting General User Proposals for the 2025-2 run cycle.

Storage ring status

Disclaimer: This is our latest understanding. If you see or hear other information from the APS, that may be more accurate than what we have here.

To date, APS accelerator physicists have successfully stored up to 200 mA of ring current and demonstrated the world’s first electron bunch swap-out capabilities (https://www.aps.anl.gov/APS-News/2024-04-30/worlds-first-successful-multi-bunch-swap-out-injection-demonstrated-at-the).  At present, ring currents of 100-200 mA are typical, with an eventual anticipated current of 200 mA.  The actual ring current at a given time depends on a suite of complex factors being managed by the accelerator physics group.  There are still more beam-dumps and unexpected downtimes than many users have come to expect from the APS. This is to be expected from a new machine, and we are confident this will continue to improve. In the meantime, experiments should allow for unexpected downtime.

Beamline Commissioning status

The APS defines three phases of beamline commissioning prior to the resumption of General User Operations:

  1. Operations Commissioning during which radiation safety shielding verification is conducted. All SEES beamlines at the APS have completed this phase.
  2. Technical Commissioning during which beamline components are tested and aligned with X-rays. Only beamline staff may participate.
  3. Scientific Commissioning during which early experiments designed to test, debug, and characterize the beamline systems are carried out. This phase may include experiments with external users (and includes acceptance of some GU proposals).

You can track the progress of all APS beamlines through these phases here. The current commissioning status of SEES beamlines at the APS is as follows:

3-ID (Nuclear Resonant Scattering)

Users have already conducted successful NRS experiments at 3-ID in the 2024-3 run during the Scientific Commissioning of the beamline with a smaller focused X-ray beam. 3-ID entered the General User phase in 2025-1. Several user groups from SEES will conduct an NRS study under high pressure at 3-ID in the 2025-1 run.

6-BM (Multi-Anvil Press)

Scientific Commissioning has begun, with the first external users expected in February. Full return to the General User Program in the 2025-2 cycle.

13-BM-C (Diamond Anvil Cell; Surface/Interface Science; In-Situ Powder Diffraction)

Scientific Commissioning with anticipated restart of General User Program in 2025-2. The optics and equipment for this beamline are working well and several users have already conducted successful experiments.

13-BM-D (Computed Microtomography; Diamond Anvil Cell; Large Volume Press)

Scientific Commissioning with anticipated restart of General User Program in 2025-2. The vertical focusing mirror for this branch was sent out for re-polishing to be able to better handle the coherence of the beam. It has now been reinstalled and commissioning is underway. This mirror is needed for vertical focusing for DAC experiments and pink-beam imaging and tomography. All methods have been able to do some scientific commissioning and several users have already conducted successful experiments.

13-ID-C/D (Diamond Anvil Cell; Large Volume Press; Surface/Interface Science)

Scientific commissioning with first users in 2025-1. The monochromator for this branch has undergone a major upgrade, and some mono-commissioning activities are ongoing interspersed with early user experiments.

The LVP program has commissioned white beam capabilities and is ready to begin commissioning monochromatic beam capabilities.

The DAC program will replace its optical table and switch to new high-precision focusing optics in the coming months. This table is being manufactured now, so experiments in early 2025 will use the existing table. The new Eiger 9M detector is on hand and ready for use.

For the surface and interface program, the diffractometer in ID-C is undergoing an upgrade to include a fast phi rotation stage and a hexapod sample positioner. Installation and commissioning of these components will happen in the coming months

13-ID-E (X-ray Microprobe)

Scientific Commissioning with first users in 2025-1 (selected from GU proposals for 2025-1). The monochromator and double-horizontal mirrors are in place and are being commissioned. At some point in the coming months, the crystal cage for the ID-E monochromator will be upgraded for better thermal management. The new high-precision KB focusing optics for the end-station are in hand, but the bender mechanism needs some modification to use these, and we expect that to happen in the next few months. Commissioning has started with the older, existing KB mirrors (already achieving ~750nm focused spot using the new source!). IDE anticipates full restart of our General User Program in 2025-2, even though some optics improvements are still planned.