About synchrotrons
A synchrotron is a large machine that generates very intense beams of light, called Synchrotron light.
This light comprises a continuous spectrum including the full range from far infrared to hard X-rays. In the X-ray regime, for example, synchrotron light is millions of times brighter than a standard laboratory X-ray source. Synchrotron light is highly collimated and can be focused to micrometer or nanometer sized beams. The polarisation of Synchrotron light can also be controlled and the light comes in defined short pulses of picosecond length.
For more information see the material on the Australian Synchrotron's websites or contact us.
How can a synchrotron benefit research?
The unique properties of synchrotron light can enable you to do experiments that are not possible or not practical in the lab.
Examples include
- high-resolution imaging and tomography
- time-resolved studies
- trace element analyses
- surface studies
- micro-beam investigations
- structural analyses (crystals, atomic order, chemistry).
Typical synchrotron techniques include
- Powder X-ray Diffraction (pXRD)
- High-throughput Protein Crystallography (PX1)
- Protein microcrystal and small molecule X-ray diffraction (PX2)
- Infrared micro-spectroscopy (IR)
- High-resolution far-infrared spectroscopy (Far-IR)
- Soft X-ray spectroscopy / X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy
- X-ray microfluorescence (XFM)
- X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS)
- Small and wide angle X-ray scattering (SAXS/WAXS)
- High-resolution imaging and tomography.
(Note: All of these techniques (excluding tomography) are available at the Australian Synchrotron. For details please refer to the beamline pages of the Australian Synchrotron.)