On the last day of 2014, the Taiwan Photon Source (TPS) has delivered its first synchrotron light at 13:58, an exciting news announced by the National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center (NSRRC) in Hsinchu, Taiwan. The electron beam energy of the TPS circulating in the storage ring has reached the design value of 3 GeV, and the stored beam current has achieved over 1 mA, marking the significant milestone for Taiwan’s new synchrotron light source. With ceaseless efforts for less than 5 years, TPS construction team has completed the mission. This important moment also kicked off the elating start of celebrations of International Year of Light 2015 (http://www.light2015.org/Home.html) in Taiwan.
Construction of the TPS
The TPS construction project is fully supported by Taiwan’s Ministry of Science and Technology and its ground breaking was held on February 7, 2010. The TPS is the largest experimental facility for multi-discipline cutting-edge research in Taiwan and aims to be one of the world's brightest synchrotron X-ray sources that will create new scientific research opportunities, enhance Taiwan’s academic competitiveness, and assist the high-tech industry in improving its R&D capability.
Commissioning and the First Light
After four and half years of construction and 4 months of hardware testing and improvement, the TPS initiated its commissioning of the booster ring, designed and built in-house, on December 12, 2014. The electron beam was accelerated to 3 GeV on December 16 and the booster’s efficiency has reached more than 60% on the following day.
The storage ring was also designed by the NSRRC staffs. After all hardware testing and improvement were ready, the commissioning of the storage ring began on December 29. On the next day, the commissioning team injected the beam into the storage ring and the electrons completed circulating one cycle. The 3 GeV electron beam with a stored current of 1 mA was achieved and the first synchrotron light was observed in the early afternoon on December 31. Shortly, the stored current reached 5 mA in the late afternoon, right before the shut-down of the TPS for the New Year holiday.
The design of accelerators and components, quality control for subsystems, alignment for all components, integrated diagnostics and control systems, and various types of magnet have reached the world upmost standard, resulting in the speedy commissioning in the booster ring and the storage ring.
In 2015, NSRRC will install 2 superconducting RF cavities for increasing the stored current up to 500 mA and 10 undulators. Five of seven Phase-I photon beamlines and their experimental stations will be completed for commissioning in 2015, followed by the remaining in 2016. For more information on NSRRC TPS project, please visit www.nsrrc.org.tw.