Early on May 8th, Associate Researcher Cai Songlin from the Institute of Mechanics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, along with his colleagues, stepped into the courtyard at 239 Zhangheng Road, Pudong New Area, Shanghai for the first time. One of Shanghai's landmark buildings, the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility, resembling a parrot screw in appearance, is located within this courtyard. A few days later, they conducted the long-awaited experiment here.
Just as they were preparing to leave, they happened to witness an important event: on May 15th, the national major scientific and technological infrastructure project, the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility Phase II Project, passed the national acceptance inspection. The National Acceptance Committee believed that the comprehensive capabilities of the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility had achieved a significant improvement, placing its overall performance at the forefront of third-generation medium-energy synchrotron radiation sources internationally.
"The completion of the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility Phase II Project marks a perfect ending, ushering the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility into a golden period of development," said Tai Renzhong, Vice President of the Shanghai Advanced Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Deputy Manager of the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility Phase II Project.
Cai Songlin and other researchers have already become some of the early beneficiaries of this "golden period."
Appearance like a conch shell, the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility. Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility provides images.
Built and opened in batches, it has provided about 80,000 hours of service.
Due to the "built and opened in batches" approach of the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility project, even before national acceptance, the newly constructed beamlines and experimental stations were already in operation. Cai Songlin and his team used an experimental station called the "Fast X-ray Imaging Beamline" to study the damage process of high-intensity steel cables under impact.
As a large scientific facility that has been in operation for 15 years, user management at the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility is quite mature. Upon arriving at the facility on May 8th, Cai Songlin and his colleagues registered their names, received radiation dose cards, and user cards at the security office by the entrance. From that moment on, the countdown began. They will conduct experiments in the "conch shell" for 120 hours. These 120 hours were applied for a month ago.
Every quarter, the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility openly solicits research topics. After evaluation by a user expert committee, research groups can obtain corresponding beamline time. This model has been in place for 15 years.
The Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility is the first third-generation synchrotron radiation source in mainland China, with construction starting on December 25, 2004. The first beamlines were officially opened to users on May 6, 2009. In November 2016, the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility project started, aiming to address national strategic needs and significant scientific issues at the forefront of science. It further develops on the existing foundation of the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility, establishing advanced, systematic synchrotron radiation experimental methods and comprehensive research capabilities, comprehensively strengthening and expanding experimental capabilities.
"At the time of its completion, the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility had only 7 beamlines, which was like 'a big cart pulling a small load.' The Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility project has expanded the 'carriage' to be larger and more numerous, constructing more advanced beamlines and experimental stations to meet the needs of national scientific development," said Tai Renzhong.
In July 2023, the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility project will be fully completed. The number of beamlines for user experiments at the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility will increase to 34, and the number of experimental stations will increase to 46. It will also become the device with the most beamlines, the widest coverage area, and a rich variety of experimental methods among the current international third-generation synchrotron radiation sources.
During the trial operation of the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility project, the newly constructed beamlines have served for about 80,000 hours, users have published nearly 500 scientific papers, and customized technical solutions have been provided to 35 leading domestic enterprises, showing initial effects in supporting technological development.
Statistics show that over the past 15 years since its opening, the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility has served nearly 47,000 users from nearly 800 units in 34 provincial-level administrative regions across the country, supporting users in completing over 20,000 experimental projects covering cutting-edge and applied research in disciplines such as life sciences, materials science, condensed matter physics, chemistry, energy environment, and medicine.
Internal of Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility. Image provided by Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility.
16 new beamlines at Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility each showcase their unique expertise.
As the saying goes, "A bad workman blames his tools." In the 120-hour experimental time of Cai Songlin and his team, a significant amount was spent on fine-tuning the experimental platform.
Upon entering the "parrot screw," Cai Songlin and team wasted no time in swiftly installing the in-situ experimental platform, specially prepared in Beijing for this experiment, onto the fast X-ray imaging technology beamline platform.
At the end of last year, in collaboration with Li Ke's team, the operational head of the fast X-ray imaging beamline at Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility, they utilized this beamline to investigate the fundamental unit of steel cables - the damage process of steel wires under dynamic impact.
In the in-situ experimental platform they brought, one end featured a thin steel wire vertically stretched, while the other end had a channel wrapped with coils, capable of housing "bullets." These "bullets" could accelerate to 300 kilometers per hour in the channel and then break the steel wire.
Once Cai Songlin had the in-situ experimental platform set up, Li Ke and team adjusted the position and timing of the X-ray emission based on the platform's characteristics, ensuring that the moment the "bullet" broke the steel wire could be captured effectively.
The in-situ experimental platform installed on the Fast X-ray Imaging Beamline Station. Photo by Ni Sijie.
The Fast X-ray Imaging Beamline Station is one of the 16 beamline stations newly built in the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility. "It is the world's first beamline station in a medium-energy synchrotron radiation facility to achieve X-ray single-pulse imaging capability, capable of achieving picosecond single-pulse ultrafast imaging, microsecond continuous dynamic imaging, and also capable of capturing millisecond dynamic micro-CT images," Li Ke told Science China Press.
Li Ke introduced the experimental process of the fast X-ray imaging beamline to the reporters.
Taking a comprehensive look at the entire Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility project, the newly constructed 16 beamlines each have their own unique specialties.
Li Aiguo, Deputy Director of the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility and overall director of the beamline project, explained that some of them are internationally pioneering beamlines, such as the Complex Systems Dynamics Research Beamline which can achieve the simultaneous use of synchrotron infrared and hard X-ray radiation across energy ranges. Others are domestically leading beamlines with world-class standards, like the Rare Element Analysis Beamline which provides safe protection for experiments involving non-exempt radioactive samples. Additionally, some beamlines have achieved internationally leading performance indicators, such as the Membrane Protein Crystallography Beamline suitable for sub-micrometer protein crystal analysis.
Through renovation and upgrades, they aim to provide a "one-stop" service.
On May 13th, Li Ke, Cai Songlin, and others completed their scheduled experiment. Cai Songlin, conducting his first experiment here, remarked on the facility's 24-hour operation and expressed the need for more researchers to conduct experiments in shifts to maximize research output.
Inside the "Parrot" facility, there is a 150 million electron volt linear electron accelerator, a full-energy booster capable of increasing electron beam energy from 150 million to 3.5 billion electron volts in 0.5 seconds, and a 432-meter circumference high-performance electron storage ring operating at 3.5 billion electron volts.
Apart from routine maintenance, the "Parrot" can emit light continuously for 24 hours. To further enhance the facility's performance, the engineering team expanded the photon energy range from infrared to 150,000 electron volts ultra-hard X-rays and 20 million electron volts low-energy gamma rays. With the installation of 13 insertion devices, the stability of the storage ring orbit remains better than 0.5 micrometers. Additionally, beam control capabilities have been further improved.
"We have never conducted experiments this quickly before, nor have we obtained such detailed images," remarked Cai Songlin. "If we can fully unleash the potential of these devices, China's scientific and technological capabilities may achieve a qualitative leap."
After completing the experiment, Cai Songlin and his team entered the data analysis phase. Their experimental data is stored in computers next to the beamline, directly connected to the user data center constructed as part of the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility project.
As part of the experimental support system, the user data center has massive data storage and analysis capabilities, with a storage capacity of 23 petabytes (PB) and edge storage capacity of 1.5 PB. Each beamline in the facility can connect to the user data center, enabling theoretical analysis, computation, and online data analysis processing.
"In the past few years, the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility has gradually established nearly a hundred synchrotron radiation experimental methods," he added.
Furthermore, to provide users with a "one-stop" service, the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility project has also established experimental support systems such as material sample preparation laboratories, chemical and environmental science auxiliary laboratories, in-situ condition auxiliary laboratories, biological and medical auxiliary laboratories, and material sample preparation laboratories outside the "Parrot" facility.
Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility Control Room. Image of Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility.
On May 15th, as the national acceptance of the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility Line Station project was completed, Cai Songlin and others packed up their belongings, took their experimental data, returned their radiation dose cards and user cards. Next, they will bring this data back to Beijing for further analysis.
Cai Songlin told Science China Press that in another two months, they will return here. Their application for another project has been selected and granted beamtime. Next, they will use a new experimental method on another beamline to study the dynamic impact damage process of wire strands twisted into cable strands. Furthermore, based on the experimental data of wire and cable, they will calculate the impact damage process of steel cables, providing theoretical support for the research and application of steel cables in key national areas.
Li Aiguo introduced that currently, the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility has become the large scientific facility in China with the most users served and the highest output of achievements. The "old" beamlines are running at full capacity, and the beamtime applications for the "new" beamlines are gradually increasing.
"In the future, the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility team will fully leverage the advanced experimental capabilities of the completed beamlines to support major national scientific and technological breakthroughs. At the same time, we are actively planning for the future and have some preliminary ideas that require further in-depth research," said Tai Renzhong.
Like Cai Songlin and others, more and more scientists are entering the "parrot shell" with research questions, then leaving with experimental data and answers, heading towards the areas most needed by the country and at the forefront of science.
