FEBRUARY 2011
28 February 2011. Commissioning of SAXS setup in OH3. Rat tail collagen and silver behenate SAXS pattern sucessfully taken.
02 February 2011. First users using Pixium detector to investigate Pair Distribution Functions (PDF) of various materials.
JANUARY 2011
06 Janurary 2011. Installation of SAXS window in OH3. Pump down and leak test successful. First setup of flat panel detector in OH3.
OCTOBER 2010
21 October 2010. First demonstration experiment in EH2. Rolls-Royse visited I12 to access the effectivenes of a local surface treatment on a fan blade.
AUGUST 2010
04 August 2010. The vacuum section from the end of EH1 all the way through to OH3 was pumped down for the first time.
JULY 2010
28 July 2010. The entry window to EH2 in the external building was installed.
14 July 2010. The slit assembly in OH3 was installed in OH3.
13 July 2010. Saul Moorhouse from the University of Oxford was awarded a prize for a poster at the SRMS-7 he had put together about work carried out on the JEEP beamline. Saul Moorhouse and his group were the first to carry out in-situ processing experiments using their furnace on I12.
13 July 2010. The beampipe in OH3 was installed and surveyed into its final position together with the SAXS window.
07 July 2010. The mounting posts for the beampipe in OH3 were installed.
06 July 2010. The SAXS window in the external building was installed and is awaiting survey.
03 July 2010. The first diffraction pattern was taken using the Pixium flat panel detector.
02 July 2010. First monochromatic beam was achieved with an energy of approx. 80keV. A first diffraction pattern was taken with the 2D flat panel detector. The sample was a Si-powder standard.
MAY 2010
09 May 2010. The detector tables in EH2 in the external plates were installed.
APRIL 2010
29 April 2010. The first complete tomography reconstruction was achieved. The furniture in control room 2 and the data acquisition room in the external building were installed.
28 April 2010. The floor plates in EH1 were grouted into their final position.
23 April 2010. The commissioning of the camera modules with the high resolution camera was started.
20 April 2010. The floor plates for optics table 2 and small detector table 2 in the external building were installed.
MARCH 2010
22 March 2010. The floor holes for the external building equipment were surveyed and drilled.
19 March 2010. The low level motion commissioning of the detector tables in EH1 was finished.
10 March 2010. All monochromator motor commissioning was finished and the monochromator lid was placed onto the base. Further installation work of monochromator diagnostics and vacuum gauges are ongoing.
8 March 2010. The anti-scatter guard which is placed directly upstream of the sample stage was installed.
3 March 2010. The directors signed of the Personal Safety System (PSS) in EH1 after all additional fencing was put in place.
FEBRUARY 2010
22 February 2010. The mechanical installation of the large detector table was finished. Cabling and commissioning are to be started. The small detector table was installed in its final position and is ready for commissioning.
19 February 2010. The large detector table was partially installed in EH1.
17 February 2010. All detector base plates were grouted into place.
15 February 2010. Removal of temporary tables from EH1 and placement of optics table in its final position.
12 February 2010. Delivery of large detector table. The base plate was installed and surveyed into position.
5 February 2010. The tomography stage (upper stage of the sample table) was delivered and installed. The Motion commissioning was started.
JANUARY 2010
27 January 2010. Factory acceptance test for large detector table 1 was successful.
20 January 2010. The monochromatic camera modules were assembled and the low level motion commissioning was carried out.
DECEMBER 2009
Monochromator in-vacuum wiring complete, motion commissioning ongoing.
Monochromatic imaging camera assembled and preliminary focusing tests carried out.
Installation of the Experimental Hutch 2 sample stage.
External building Cabins and Services installation finished, installation of power and control cables ongoing.
NOVEMBER 2009
27 November 2009. Our first users arrived. The group of Prof. Alexander Korsunsky' performed energy-dispersive diffraction experiments with white beam on various samples.
SEPTEMBER 2009
First light in Optics Hutch 2.
Monochromator mechanical assembly mostly complete.
Secondary slits installed and commissioned.
Installation work in Experimental Hutch 1 ongoing.
Lower part of sample stage and optics table installed and commissioned.
Entry window installed.
AUGUST 2009
Wiggler operating at 4T and 250 mA storage ring current.
Control cabin 1 ready for user operation.
MAY 2009
I12 achieves first light in Optics Hutch 1 at 16:44 on 12 May 2009. See construction photos.
DECEMBER 2008
Monochromator chamber delivered and installed on base frame. See construction photos.
NOVEMBER 2008
7 November 2008. Roofing of External Building in progress. See construction photos
OCTOBER 2008
17 October 2008. Experiment Hutch 2 concrete roof construction in progress. See construction photos
22 October 2008: Installation of cabins & services for internal parts of beamline has made a lot of progress. The cabins are up and most of the pipework and electrical containment is complete. See construction photos
28 October 2008. Experiment Hutch 2 roof complete. Remaining roof steelwork of External Building in place. See construction photos
SEPTEMBER 2008
9 September 2008. External building reinforcement and shuttering almost up to roof level. See construction photos
29 September 2008. Experiment Hutch 2 concrete walls complete. See construction photos
AUGUST 2008
6 August 2008. Concrete pouring below base of slab for External Building completed. Meanwhile, inside the main building, the first section of the transport tube between the internal and external parts of the beamline has been installed. See construction photos
6 August 2008. So far, all the attention has been on the hutches and building. So in early August we welcomed the arrival of the I12 Front End. This is the series of vacuum pipes, apertures, slits and shutters which will take the X-ray beam from the Wiggler to the I12 port in the storage ring wall.
12 August 2008. Erection of reinforcement for External Building EH2 bunker walls in progress. See construction photos.
15 August 2008. Storage ring tunnel roof section removed ready for I12 Front End installation. See construction photos.
There's also been a lot of progress with the cabins & services for the internal beamline hutches. See construction photos.
19 August 2008. Front end installation started. See construction photos
22 August 2008. Front end installed and alignment in progress. There will be further alignment & commissioning work in the September shutdown. See construction photos
22 August 2008. Reinforcement & shuttering for External Building bunker walls continues. See construction photos.
JULY 2008
2 July 2008. Pumping of concrete for sample pit bases.
9 July 2008. Steel reinforcement for pit walls in place.
JUNE 2008
4 June 2008. Start of construction of steel frame of External Building. See construction photos.
13 June 2008. External Building steel frame taking shape. See construction photos.
13 June 2008. First stage of steel building frame complete.
19 June 2008. Excavation of sample stage pits in progress.
26 June 2008. Area for stage pits excavated. See construction photos.
MAY 2008
30 May 2008. Cabins & Services installation started on the Hutches inside the Main Synchrotron Building.
23 May 2008. Foundations for building shell in progress.
7 May 2008. External Building Piling in progress. The piles, like those under the main Synchrotron Hall floor, are designed to give the stability required for sensitive experiments. See construction photos.
APRIL 2008
External Building ready for piling. First parts of Large Sample Stage for External Building delivered.
MARCH 2008
31 March - Ground is being levelled and prepared for piling. Cladding on the existing Synchrotron Building removed.
5 March - "Ground Breaking Ceremony". Professor Colin Norris, Physical Science Director, joined the I12 team to officially start External Building construction.
FEBRUARY 2008
Internal Hutches complete and ready for services installation. Site preparation work for the External Building began.
JANUARY 2008
The internal beamline hutches are almost complete. The contractors are on site installing the last piece, which is the transfer tube shielding between the Side Station and Optics Hutch 2.
Installation of the PSS system and alarm in progress.
10 March 2010. The monochromator motor commissioning was finished and the lid was placed onto the base.
The first tomography resoncstruction was compleded using the cluster and images from the PCO camera, but without X-ray beam.