Interpret the meaning of hard X-ray free electron laser device

With the hard X-ray free electron laser device entering the stage of comprehensive construction, in the future, it will be together with the existing Shanghai synchrotron radiation light source, soft X-ray free electron laser device, ultra-strong and ultra-short laser experimental device, etc., to form the largest and most comprehensive photonic large scientific facility group in the world.

"The world's leading photonic science center will rise in zhangjiang." On April 27th, at the academic BBS "scientific opportunity and technical challenge of X-ray free electron laser" hosted by Shanghai university of science and technology and zhang jiang laboratory, many well-known scholars made an understanding of the functions and highlights of hard X-ray free electron laser device.

Ideal probe for revealing material structure and life phenomena

As an ideal probe that can reveal the structure of matter and the phenomenon of life at the atomic/molecular scale, X-ray has had a profound impact on physics, chemistry, life and other disciplines.

"Humans need to further explore the micro world, especially in the fields of materials, environment, biology and many other disciplines. In the process of carrying out some basic scientific research projects, we have begun to have higher and more special requirements for light sources." Jiang huaidong, a professor at the school of materials science and technology of Shanghai university of science and technology and general director of the fel-i sub-station of the beam line of the hard X-ray free electron laser device project, said that compared with the third-generation synchrotron radiation light source, the X-ray free electron laser has three significant advantages: higher brightness, shorter pulses and better coherence. For example, the peak brightness of an X-ray free-electron laser is 8 to 10 orders of magnitude higher than that of a third-generation synchrotron source, while the pulse frequency is 3 to 4 orders of magnitude shorter, ranging from femtoseconds to subfemtoseconds.

The establishment of hard X-ray free electron laser devices will provide high resolution imaging, ultra-fast process exploration, advanced structure analysis and other cutting-edge research tools for multidisciplinary research. Party secretary of Shanghai university of science and technology, hard X rays, free electron laser device, general manager of project zhi-yuan zhu to experimental detection ability to take an example: around 1 mev spectroscopy energy resolution (mev) do an experiment, in the past with the third generation synchrotron radiation light source need to 200 days, while the use of hard X-ray free electron laser devices only need to 3 hours.

Zhao zhentang, director of the Shanghai institute of applied physics at the Chinese academy of sciences and chief scientist of the hard X-ray free electron laser device project, said the device has a wide range of applications. In chemistry, for example, scientists can observe the process of breaking chemical bonds through experiments.

"Last year's Nobel Prize in chemistry was awarded to cryoelectron microscopy, in the sense that until now the scientific understanding of cellular structure has been limited to taking molecular photographs. In the future, once a hard X-ray free-electron laser is in use, scientists will have a chance to observe the cells as they live. Only by understanding the basic structure of matter and gaining a deeper understanding at the atomic and molecular levels can scientists control these structures. "Jiang said.

Construction accuracy requirements are unprecedented

Total length of 3. The 1km hard X-ray free electron laser device will build an underground tunnel buried 29 meters underground. The installation is not only the most expensive scientific installation since the founding of new China, but also the most difficult in construction.

"Unlike ordinary civil engineering facilities, this is a large scientific installation with special application in science, so the requirement for construction precision is unprecedented." In the words of Yang zhihao, the project design leader of the hard X-ray free electron laser device and vice President of the Shanghai tunnel engineering rail transit design and research institute, the hard X-ray free electron laser device is an ultra-conventional, ultra-long and ultra-deep project. Due to the particularity of this device, after the preliminary study, it is necessary to build a straight tunnel with various optical instruments and equipment inside the site of zhangjiang, pudong, which can only be built underground. Ordinary civil structures are usually built to within centimeters of accuracy, while hard X-ray free-electron laser units are built to within millimeters or even microns. In order to meet the requirements of scientific experiments, the device is equipped with five working Wells, and the excavation depth of each well reaches about 45 meters. "In the soft soil layer of the foundation in Shanghai, be sure to make this section as long as 3. "A 1-kilometer large installation without subsidence means difficulty and challenge in construction.

It is known that the construction period of the hard X-ray free electron laser device is seven years, including the research and development of the device itself, and the construction time of the tunnel engineering part is three years. It is expected to be completed by the end of 2024.

Clusters of large devices will complement each other functionally

In recent years, as the development of X-ray electron laser has gone from the stage of proof of principle and method exploration to the rapid development stage of frontier scientific breakthrough, the academic community generally believes that it will play an irreplaceable role in the frontier areas of energy, environment, health and new material discovery, etc. that solve the national strategic needs.

As an important part of the construction of zhangjiang comprehensive national science center, China's hard X-ray free electron laser device started not too late, and its performance is better than that of Europe and America. "In the future, the hard X-ray free electron laser device will complement the soft X-ray free electron laser device and the ultra-strong and ultra-short laser experimental device in terms of functions to meet the needs of different users." Zhao zhentang believes that the cluster of large devices will create strategic opportunities for Shanghai sci-tech innovation center to significantly improve its independent innovation capacity, and will play an irreplaceable role in participating in global sci-tech innovation competition in the future.

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