The Advanced Photon Source Upgrade is focused on delivering a powerful, versatile facility for science with high-brightness, high-energy X-rays. At APS, and around the U.S. light source community, scientists have been developing storage ring designs to push closer to the ultimate diffraction limit for X-ray sources. A recent report by the Basic Energy Sciences Advisory Committee (BESAC), which advises the Director of the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science, has recommended leveraging such "multi-bend achromat" technology to boost research tools used by academic, industrial and National Laboratory innovators. This emerging technology could provide orders-of-magnitude improvement in coherent flux for imaging with wavelength-limited spatial resolution and for nanoprobes utilizing the full array of powerful X–ray contrast modes, from diffraction to resonant inelastic X-ray scattering. Moreover, the development of such capabilities will be essential if U.S. light sources are to remain world-leading in an increasingly competitive international environment.

Argonne and the APS will work closely with the DOE Office of Science in the effort to incorporate this new technology into the ongoing APS Upgrade project. This enhancement would solidify the APS's role as the nation's premier high-energy light source and ensure that the U.S. retains its leadership as a global hub for innovation by maintaining leadership in X-ray light source technology.