For more than 10 years, hundreds of people have been preparing for the Advanced Photon Source (APS) Upgrade. The goal has been a renewed APS facility, and as the final bits of the storage ring come together, we are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. 

This is a testament to meticulous planning and years of dedicated work, which has fed into the ongoing intense shutdown period. As one of the last checks before we start commissioning the new storage ring, next month we will hold an accelerator readiness review. During this, a team of reviewers will assess that we have the equipment, processes and people in place to start safely commissioning the machine, with the blessing of our sponsors.

It is critical and of the utmost importance to be safe at all times, particularly when bringing a new facility to life. We have proceeded this far with an exemplary safety record and look to continue that record going forward. However, the hazards change dramatically when we start circulating beam, and this review will help ensure that we have everything in place to move into operations safely. Safety really is Job 1.

This focus on safety will continue as we return to enabling scientific research at the APS. To that end, we continue to painstakingly test and check out each of the systems of the new ring. That process is nearly complete, with our teams making sure that the technical systems all work, and that they all work together, as best we can before starting beam commissioning. Of course we will learn as we go – it is a brand new, one-of-a-kind machine after all – but with all the studies and measurements completed to date, I believe we have a great machine and a great team to execute the plan.

In addition to looking ahead, I really should note we’ve reached a couple milestones in the past month as well. The cryogenic team behind the bunch lengthening system – which will extend the life of the electron beam in the storage ring, so that it won’t need to be replenished as often – achieved superfluid helium temperature of 2 Kelvin, a great and intricate accomplishment. We also now have beam back in the booster accelerator, leaving only the storage ring to complete the full accelerator complex.

And we’re continuing to build and enhance beamlines in preparation for first light from the new APS. Below are some pictures of the fully assembled Ultra-Small Angle X-ray Scattering (USAXS) flight tube at beamline 12-ID, the latest large instrument to be installed. 

You can tell we’re getting closer to the finish line, because the call has gone out for first experiment proposals on the new feature beamlines. Proposals are now being accepted in the new Universal Proposal System. (Please contact the APS user office if you have questions.) If you’re interested to know more about the feature beamlines, we’ve unveiled a new section of the APS Upgrade website that gives an overview.

The process of bringing beamlines online is an involved one and we expect beamlines to be commissioned and returned to operations over the course of the year.

All of this means, in short, that we’re getting closer to the time when we can open the doors again and welcome users to the newly upgraded APS. It’s been a long road, but this plan is coming together, and before long we’ll be turning the (much, much brighter) lights back on. We’ll keep you updated as that time approaches. As always, the most recent information on the APS Upgrade can be found on our website. 

Thank you and stay safe.

Jim Kerby
Director, APS Upgrade Project