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periodic updates here, but there will be many developments in 2024 and 2025, and some of this information may become out-of-date within a few months.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 3-Oct-2024.
The Advanced Photon Source (APS) is currently undergoing a major upgrade (APS-U) that will dramatically enhance 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 in the Fall of 2024 and Winter of 2025 and start to do a few user experiments.
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 120 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 100-150 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 the APS. This is to be expected from a new machine, and we are confident this will continue to improve. But beamtime reliability is not yet to 90%, and commissioning 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:
- Operations Commissioning during which radiation safety shielding verification is conducted. All SEES beamlines at the APS have completed this phase.
- Technical Commissioning during which beamline components are tested and aligned with X-rays. Only beamline staff may participate.
- 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.
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)
Scientific Commissioning with first user experiments in 2024-3 and anticipated return to General User Operations in 2025-1.
6-BM (Multi-Anvil Press)
Technical Commissioning with anticipated transition to Scientific Commissioning with first users either late in 2024-3 or 2025-1.
13-BM-C (Diamond Anvil Cell; Surface/Interface Science; In-Situ Powder Diffraction)
Scientific Commissioning with first user experiments in 2024-3. Anticipated return to General User Operations in 2025-1. Most of the optics and equipment for this beamline are working well.
13-BM-D (Computed Microtomography; Diamond Anvil Cell; Large Volume Press)
Scientific Commissioning with first user experiments in 2024-3. Anticipated return to General User Operations in 2025-1. The vertical focusing mirror for this branch was sent out for re-polishing to be able to better handle the coherence of the beam. We expect and are hoping this to be returned by November. Installing and commissioning it will take the better part of a week. This mirror is needed for vertical focusing for DAC experiments, and for pink-beam imaging and tomography. Those techniques will need a bit of additional commissioning once that mirror is in place, but all methods have been able to do some technical commissioning.
13-ID-C/D (Diamond Anvil Cell; Large Volume Press; Surface/Interface Science)
Technical Commissioning with anticipated transition to Scientific Commissioning with first users either late in 2024-3 or 2025-1. The monochromator for this branch is undergoing a major upgrade. The new vessel and rotation stage are installed and in place. The newly-designed crystal cage is being assembled and tested, and is expected to be ready to be installed during the 2024-3 run. When ready, installation and re-evacuating the monochromator will take a few days, and then monochromatic commissioning for the DAC program will be begin. Until this happens, the ID-C/D branch is running in white-beam mode, and commissioning for the LVP program is underway.
The DAC program will replace its optical table and switch to new high-precision focusing optics in the coming months. This table is not yet manufactured, so commissioning in 2024-3 will use the existing table. The new Eiger 9M detector is on-hand, and will be ready for use during technical and scientific commissioning.
For the surface and interface program, the diffractometer in ID-C is undergoing an upgrade to include a fast phi rotation stage and hexapod sample positioner. Installation and commissioning of these components will happen in the coming months
13-ID-E (X-ray Microprobe)
Technical Commissioning with anticipated transition to Scientific Commissioning with first users either late in 2024-3 or 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 will start with the older, existing KB mirrors (which are pretty good!). The main XRF detector is out for repair, but is expected to be returned by November. In the meantime, we’re starting to commission with an older Vortex ME-4.