Although the 4GLS project has been cancelled ERLP has NOT and activities on it continue.
Those interested in commenting on all aspects of the UK's involvement in next generation light sources are directed to:
http://www.stfc.ac.uk/SciProg/Photon/photonsci.aspx
INTRODUCTION
Activities on 4GLS span both:
- the present, funded, development stage of the project, which involves addressing the technical challenges of 4GLS through design studies, R&D focussed on a demonstrator machine (the ERL Prototype or ERLP) and international collaboration; and
- a process of continuous enhancement of the 4GLS science and business cases, development of the international context of 4GLS and securing resources for the realisation of 4GLS itself.
4GLS will be a world-leading photon facility to enable internationally outstanding science in the UK.
4GLS Science Landscapes » (pdf 5.51MB)
The 4GLS facility will combine energy recovery linac (ERL) and free electron laser (FEL) technologies to deliver a suite of naturally synchronised state-of-the-art sources of synchrotron radiation and FEL radiation covering the terahertz (THz) to soft X-ray regimes.
4GLS is the leading energy recovery proposal in Europe and the most comprehensive in terms of utilisation of combined sources. It is complementary to TESLA XFEL, to table-top lasers and to third generation sources available to the UK research community i.e. ESRF, SRS (now) and DLS (near future). 4GLS will be a multi-user facility utilising the strengths of undulator sources, capturing the potential of FELs and harnessing the advantages of combining both.
After
the 4GLS project successfully passed OGC Gateways 0 and 1, DTI announced (in
April 2003) approval of a programme covering the R&D and design work needed
to address the key challenges of 4GLS.
This involves:
- the construction and operation of a demonstrator facility (the ERL Prototype or ERLP)
- collaboration where international efforts are directed at addressing problems not accessible with ERLP
- undertaking electron beam simulations that are needed to understand and control the complex relativistic electron beam dynamics issues inherent when building a world-leading accelerator.
The 'moth-balled' experimental areas of the former Nuclear Structure Facility at Daresbury Laboratory have been brought back into service to house the ERL Prototype.
Design activities on 4GLS have recently been boosted by £1.6M funding awarded in early 2005
« Schematic of the ERL Prototype in place in the tower experimental areas and the associated control, laser and diagnostics rooms - click image to see larger size.
