Publications | Diamond News Autumn 2009

I13 begins to take shape outside the doughnut

On Friday 26th June, the first turf was cut to make way for the X-ray Imaging and Coherence beamline (I13). This 250m long experimental station will provide a tool for non-destructive examination of internal features at the micro (a few thousandths of a millimetre) and nano (a few millionths of a millimetre) length scale for a broad range of scientific users from biomedicine, materials science, geophysics, astrophysics and archaeology fields.

Celebration as the first turf is cut to make way for I13. Front group from left to right: Ulrich Wagner, Ian Robinson, Paul Prince (RAL), Christoph Rau, Trevor Rayment.

I13 is the longest synchrotron experimental station in the western hemisphere, surpassed only by SPring-8 in Japan, where there is a beamline four times its length. The extended length of the beamline allows a special type of experiment called coherent imaging. Since the X-ray source is so far away from the sample, the X-rays fan out as they travel 250m down the beamline before illuminating the sample and effectively creating a minutely detailed holographic image down to the precision of a few microns to a few nanometres. This technique is particularly useful for investigating structures which do not readily absorb X-rays such as soft tissue. For example, coherent imaging on I13 will enable researchers to study the membranes and cells in the cochlea, helping to better understand the hearing process under real conditions.

In addition to this, similar to CT scanning carried out in hospitals, where a 3D image is built up from a series of finely detailed 2D projections at different orientations, I13 is also capable of the 3D imaging technique known as tomography. However, the images created through synchrotron tomography involve a lower dose rate and are of a much higher resolution than those created in a hospital, enabling vital investigations into fields such as bio-medical applications and tiny electronic devices. I13 will be able to take hard X-ray imaging beyond today’s limits, offering the UK scientific community a facility that can create 3D images of a quality that is beyond what is possible with laboratory techniques.

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