Argonne National Laboratory

Advanced Photon Source Upgrade

APS-U
An extensive upgrade will be able to generate X-rays that are up to 500 times brighter and enable science we cannot yet imagine. 

The future of the Advanced Photon Source (APS), a Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science User Facility at Argonne National Laboratory, is about to get a lot brighter.

The APS is already a powerful scientific facility, and the ultrabright X-rays it generates are used by more than 5,500 scientists each year to create stronger materials, build more efficient batteries and help develop vaccines and treatments for infectious diseases. A comprehensive upgrade to the facility’s electron storage ring, scheduled to begin in April 2023, will increase the brightness of those X-rays by up to 500 times and will enable new discoveries and innovations we cannot yet imagine. New beamlines and enhancements will further expand the capabilities of the APS, and keep it at the forefront of global X-ray science.

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People of the APS Upgrade

A project of this scope is an extraordinary endeavor, but like all similar projects, it is being designed, built, tested and installed by people. This series of profiles focuses on the people behind the APS Upgrade. This project has dozens of human faces, and it’s the goal of this series to showcase the people who make up the APS Upgrade team and their roles in the larger effort. #TeamWorkMakesTheBeamWork 

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Images of the APS Upgrade

Below are images of portions of the APS Upgrade project in progress.

A fully assembled module for the new APS storage ring. The new ring will be made up of 200 of these modules, combining precisely aligned electromagnets with a complex vacuum system and specially designed power systems. (Image by Argonne National Laboratory.)
The connection between two magnets on one of the 200 modules of the new APS storage ring. The vacuum system, which recreates the vacuum of deep space to keep the electron beam from coming in contact with the atmosphere, stretches between the magnets. (Image by Argonne National Laboratory.)
A row of partially assembled modules for the new APS storage ring. Modules are assembled in a warehouse off of the Argonne site and will be transported to the APS for installation. (Image by Argonne National Laboratory.)
Group shot of the team assembling modules for the new APS storage ring, gathered around the 100th fully assembled module. The new ring will be made up of 200 of these modules, built at a warehouse off of the Argonne site. Other completed modules also visible. (Image by Argonne National Laboratory.)
The completed Long Beamline Building, which will house two of the new feature beamlines: the High Energy X-ray Microscope (HEXM) and the In Situ Nanoprobe (ISN). (Image by Argonne National Laboratory.)
Argonne Laboratory Director Paul Kearns, seated, starts the final countdown that shuttered the APS beamlines before the year-long APS Upgrade removal and installation period. Leaders from Argonne, the APS and the U.S. Department of Energy were present. (Image by Argonne National Laboratory.)
Workers remove the first module of the original APS storage ring. The original ring will be completely cleared out to make room for the new one, which will be transported module by module to the APS facility and installed. (Image by Argonne National Laboratory.)
The first removed module of the original APS storage ring, strapped to a truck for transport. The original modules will be removed one by one and taken to a storage area on the Argonne site. The upgraded APS storage ring will then be installed. (Image by Argonne National Laboratory.)
The first production model superconducting undulator magnet for the Advanced Photon Source Upgrade. The upgraded facility will use eight of these magnets to help generate some of the world’s brightest X-rays. (Image by Argonne National Laboratory.)
Argonne engineer Matt Kasa demonstrates the system that winds superconducting magnets for use in the Advanced Photon Source. Each magnet uses three kilometers of precisely spaced wire to generate its magnetic field. (Image by Argonne National Laboratory.)