It's been an eventful month here at the Advanced Photon Source (APS), as we get closer and closer to welcoming users and their experiments back to the facility. We have some great updates to share with you.

On April 29, the APS became the first modern light source to demonstrate multi-bunch swap-out injection. This is a method of injecting electrons into the storage ring by kicking out low-energy bunches and replacing them with fresh ones. The mood here was ecstatic as our dedicated team made terrific progress with the new storage ring.

That progress was slightly delayed when we encountered an issue with the septum magnet that enables the injection. We quickly prepared and installed the spare septum and we are back on track. Commissioning of the new storage ring continues, and we recently hit our first target current of 25 milliamps. We have continued to increase the current since then, and have reached 60 milliamps. Watch the APS Upgrade website and our APS social media channels for this and other upcoming milestones as we bring the facility back into operation.

All of which means we are getting closer to delivering photons to scientific beamlines. Work has ramped up on the experiment floor as we construct the feature beamlines, install components around the ring and complete alignments. Below you can see some photos from recent work at 8-ID, the new X-ray Photon Correlation Spectroscopy (XPCS) beamline — specifically, the installation of a sample chamber in the wide-angle XPCS enclosure.

All APS beamlines will come online in the following months, some faster than others. There are six steps to the process for bringing beamlines into operation, and all beamlines need to go through this process. We are continually refining the schedule for bringing up all 71 beamlines to account for component deliveries and other factors and will be posting to keep the community apprised of progress and current forecasts for bringing particular beamlines online.

Also this month we held our first in-person APS/CNM Annual Users Meeting since 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic. It was a treat seeing our users and hearing first-hand their excitement about the upgraded APS and its capabilities. Several successful workshops were held to explore those capabilities, and I also participated in the latest APS Upgrade Q&A session. If you were unable to attend, you can catch up on the questions and answers here.

As always, the Upgrade website is your best way of learning the latest information as we work to begin the next era of discovery at the APS. You can also learn more about the people behind the effort — the latest in our People of the APS Upgrade series spotlights Vadim Sajaev, interim head of the Accelerator Systems Division, who is leading the effort to commission the new storage ring.

Until next month, be safe, and look for big news from the APS in the near future.

Sincerely,
Jonathan Lang
Director, X-ray Science Division