Credit: Photo by Adrian Sokolov
Lyncean Technologies, a pioneer in compact accelerator-based light sources for use in science and industry, on October 4th signed a contract with the “Horia Hulubei” National Institute for Research and Development in Physics and Nuclear Engineering (IFIN-HH), Romania, to build a Variable Energy Gamma-ray (VEGA) System. The system will have applications in fundamental physics, nuclear physics and astrophysics, as well as applied research in materials science, management of nuclear materials, and life sciences. The contract comprises the design, construction, installation and commissioning of the system, as well as operation and maintenance support for three years after completion.
The VEGA system will be the most advanced gamma-ray source in the world, having about one order of magnitude higher gamma-ray flux and at least a factor of two smaller bandwidth, or energy spread, than the current state of the art. It will be part of the Extreme Light Infrastructure – Nuclear Physics (ELI-NP), a European Center of Excellence for scientific research in laser and gamma radiation, located in the town of Magurele near Bucharest, Romania.
Prof. Dr. Nicolae Victor Zamfir, Director General of IFIN-HH and Project Director of ELI-NP, says “With their extensive experience and expertise in accelerator driven light sources, Lyncean Technologies is uniquely qualified to build the VEGA system. We are extremely pleased to partner with Lyncean to create one of the premier facilities for nuclear research in the world.”
Michael Feser, Chief Executive Officer of Lyncean Technologies, adds, “The VEGA system perfectly fits within Lyncean’s mission to provide industry and academia with accelerator-based compact light sources to meet their most demanding application needs. The design of the VEGA system leverages significant technology developments from Lyncean’s existing X-ray source, the Compact Light Source, and the Compact EUV Source currently under development.”
The working principle of the gamma-ray source is based on the inverse Compton effect, whereby a laser beam collides with a beam of high-energy electrons. The electrons transfer part of their energy to the laser photons, shifting their energy to the gamma-ray regime. Activities to develop and manufacture the VEGA system will start immediately, with delivery, installation and acceptance scheduled to be completed in early 2023.
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About Lyncean Technologies
Lyncean Technologies, Inc.was founded in 2001 to develop the Compact Light Source (CLS), a miniature synchrotron X-ray source based on research performed at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University. The CLS replaces the conventional “undulator” magnets in the large synchrotrons by laser technology, which scales down the entire device by a factor of 200 to provide industrial and academic customers a local solution for state-of-the-art X-ray needs. Lyncean’s newest development is a novel EUV source based on coherent photon generation in a compact electron storage ring, specifically designed for high volume manufacturing semiconductor lithography. For more information visit: http://www.
About IFIN-HH and ELI-NP
With a contribution of almost 10% of the Romania scientific output, IFIN-HH is one of the most important public R&D organizations in Romania. The institute is dedicated to the research and development in physical and natural sciences, mainly Nuclear Physics and Nuclear Engineering, and in related areas including Astrophysics and Particle Physics, Theoretical Physics, Life and Environmental Physics. IFIN-HH is building ELI-NP, the most advanced research facility in the world focusing on the study of photonuclear physics and its applications, comprising a very high intensity laser of two 10PW ultra-short pulse lasers and the most brilliant tunable gamma-ray source. For more information visit: http://www.
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