View source for National Synchrotron Light Source

{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2011}}
{{Infobox building
| name                = NSLS
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| image_alt           =
| caption             = Aerial view of the NSLS.
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| building_type       = Research and Development Facility
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| cost                = $160,000,000&nbsp;USD<ref>{{cite web|title=NSLS Everyday Science|url=http://www.nsls.bnl.gov/about/everyday/synchrotron.asp|publisher=bnl.gov|accessdate=March 28, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120321023857/http://www.nsls.bnl.gov/about/everyday/synchrotron.asp|archive-date=March 21, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>
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| owner               = [[United States Department of Energy|Department of Energy]]
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| location_town       = [[Upton, New York|Upton]]
| location_country    = United States
| coordinates         = {{coord|40|52|05|N|72|52|35|W|display=inline}}
| start_date          = 1978
| completion_date     = 1982 UV ring<br/>1984 X-ray ring
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| renovation_date     = 1986
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| website =  {{URL|https://www.bnl.gov/ps/nsls/about-NSLS.asp|Original NSLS web page}}
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}}

The '''National Synchrotron Light Source''' ('''NSLS''') at [[Brookhaven National Laboratory]] (BNL) in [[Upton, New York]] was a national user research facility funded by the [[U.S. Department of Energy]] (DOE). Built from 1978 through 1984, and officially shut down on September 30, 2014,<ref name=":0">[https://www.bnl.gov/ps/news/news.php?a=25206 Last Light at NSLS]</ref> the NSLS was considered a second-generation [[synchrotron]].<ref name="NSLS History">{{cite web |title=A Brief History of the NSLS|url=http://www.nsls.bnl.gov/about/history/|publisher=BNL.gov|accessdate=August 4, 2010}}</ref>

The NSLS experimental floor consisted of two electron storage rings: an [[X-ray]] ring and a VUV ([[vacuum ultraviolet]]) ring which provided intense, focused light spanning the electromagnetic spectrum from the infrared through X-rays. The properties of this light and the specially designed experimental stations, called [[beamline]]s, allowed scientists in many fields of research to perform experiments not otherwise possible at their own laboratories.

==History==
Ground was broken for the NSLS on September 28, 1978. The VUV ring began operations in late 1982 and the X-ray ring was commissioned in 1984. In 1986, a second phase of construction expanded the NSLS by {{convert|52000|sqft|m2}}, which added offices, laboratories and room for new experimental equipment.<ref name="NSLS History"/> After 32 years of producing synchrotron light, the final stored beam was dumped at 16.00 EDT on 30 September 2014, and NSLS was officially shut down.

During the construction of the NSLS, two scientists, [[Renate Chasman]] and [[George Kenneth Green]], invented a special periodic arrangement of magnetic elements (a [[magnetic lattice (accelerator)|magnetic lattice]]) to provide optimized bending and focusing of electrons.<ref name="NSLS History"/> The design was called the [[Chasman–Green lattice]], and it became the basis of design for every [[synchrotron]] storage ring. Storage rings are characterized by the number of straight sections and bend sections in their design. The bend sections produce more light than the straight sections due to the change in [[angular momentum]] of the electrons. Chasman and Green accounted for this in their design by adding insertion devices, known as [[wiggler (synchrotron)|wigglers]] and [[undulator]]s, in the straight sections of the storage ring.<ref name="NSLS History"/> These insertion devices produce the brightest light among the sections of the ring and thus, [[beamline]]s are typically built downstream from them.

===VUV ring===

[[File:Beamline at Brookhaven National Laboratory.jpg|thumb |200px|A [[beamline]] for [[synchrotron light]] at Brookhaven.]]
The VUV ring at the National Synchrotron Light Source was one of the first of the 2nd generation light sources to operate in the world. It was initially designed in 1976 and commissioned in 1983.<ref name="NSLS VUV">{{cite web |title=VUV Storage Ring|url=http://www.nsls.bnl.gov/facility/accelerator/vuv/|publisher=BNL.gov|accessdate=August 4, 2010}}</ref> During the Phase II upgrade in 1986, two insertion wigglers/undulators were added to the VUV ring, providing the highest brightness source in the vacuum ultraviolet region until the advent of 3rd generation light sources.<ref name="NSLS VUV"/>

===X-ray ring===

The X-ray ring at the National Synchrotron Light Source was one of the first storage rings designed as a dedicated source of [[synchrotron radiation]].<ref name="NSLS X-ray ring">{{cite web |title=X-Ray Storage Ring|url=http://www.nsls.bnl.gov/facility/accelerator/xray/|publisher=BNL.gov|accessdate=August 4, 2010}}</ref> The final lattice design was completed in 1978 and the first stored beam was obtained in September 1982. By 1985, the experimental program was in a rapid state of development, and by the end of 1990, the Phase II beamlines and insertion devices were brought into operation.<ref name="NSLS X-ray ring"/>

==Design==

Electrons generate the synchrotron radiation that was used at the end stations of beamlines. The electrons are first produced by a 100 [[electronvolt|KeV]] triode electron gun.<ref name="NSLS Booster and Linac Ring">{{cite web |title=Booster & Linac Ring|url=http://www.nsls.bnl.gov/facility/accelerator/booster/|publisher=BNL.gov|accessdate=August 4, 2010}}</ref> These electrons then proceeded through a linear accelerator (linac), which got them up to 120 [[electronvolt|MeV]].<ref name="NSLS Booster and Linac Ring"/> Next, the electrons entered a booster ring, where their energy was increased to 750 MeV,<ref name="NSLS Booster and Linac Ring"/> and were then injected into either the VUV ring or the X-ray ring. In the VUV ring, the electrons were further ramped up to 825 MeV and electrons in the X-ray ring were ramped to 2.8 [[electronvolt|GeV]].

Once in the ring, VUV or X-ray, the electrons orbit and lose energy as a result of changes in their [[angular momentum]], which cause the expulsion of photons. These photons are deemed white light, i.e. [[polychromatic]], and are the source of synchrotron radiation. Before being used in a beamline endstation, the light is [[collimator|collimated]] before reaching a [[monochromator]] or series of monochromators to get a single and fixed wavelength.

During normal operations, the electrons in the storage rings lost energy and as such, the rings were re-injected every 12 (X-ray ring) and 4 (VUV ring) hours. The difference in time arose from the fact that VUV light has a larger wavelength and thus has lower energy which leads to faster decay, while the X-rays have a very small wavelength and are high energy.

This was the first synchrotron to be controlled using microprocessors.<ref name=dcs>{{cite web |title=Distributed Control System for the National Synchrotron Light Source|url=http://epaper.kek.jp/p79/PDF/PAC1979_3387.PDF|publisher=IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science|accessdate=December 13, 2015}}</ref>

==Facilities==

The UV ring had 19 beamlines, while the X-ray ring had 58 beamlines.<ref name="NSLS Beamline Guide">{{cite web |title=List of Beamlines by Number|url=http://www.nsls.bnl.gov/beamlines/bynumber.asp|publisher=BNL.gov|accessdate=August 4, 2010}}</ref> The beamlines were operated and funded in numerous ways. However, since the NSLS was a user facility, any scientist that submitted a proposal could be granted beamtime after peer-review. There were two types of beamlines at the NSLS: Facility Beamlines (FBs), which were operated by the NSLS staff and reserved a minimum of 50 percent of their beamtime for users, and Participating Research Team (PRT) beamlines, which were operated and staffed by external groups and reserved at least 25 percent of their beamtime for users.

Each X-ray [[beamline]] had an endstation called a [[hutch (synchrotron)|hutch]]. These are large enclosures made of [[radiation protection|radiation shielding]] materials, such as steel and [[lead glass|leaded glass]], to protect the users from the [[ionizing radiation]] of the beam. On the X-ray floor, many of the experiments conducted used techniques such as [[X-ray diffraction]], high-resolution [[powder diffraction]] (PXRD), [[X-ray absorption fine structure|XAFS]], DAFS (X-ray diffraction anomalous fine structure), [[wide-angle X-ray scattering|WAXS]], and [[small-angle X-ray scattering|SAXS]].

On the VUV ring, the endstations were usually UHV ([[ultra-high vacuum]]) chambers that were used to conduct experiments using methods such as [[X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy|XPS]], [[ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy|UPS]], [[low-energy electron microscopy|LEEM]], and [[near edge X-ray absorption fine structure|NEXAFS]].

In some [[beamline]]s, there were other analytical tools used in conjunction with synchrotron radiation, such as a [[Mass spectrometry|mass spectrometer]], a high-power [[laser]], or a [[gas chromatography–mass spectrometry|gas chromatography mass spectrometer]]. These techniques helped supplement and better quantify the experiments carried out at the endstation.

===Achievements and statistics===

====Nobel prizes====
In 2003, [[Roderick MacKinnon]] won the [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry]] for deciphering the structure of the neuronal [[ion channel]]. His work was in part conducted at the NSLS.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bnl.gov/bnlweb/history/nobel/nobel_03.asp |title=Nobel Prize &#124; 2003 Chemistry Prize, Roderick MacKinnon |publisher=Bnl.gov |accessdate=March 17, 2010}}</ref> In 2009, [[Venkatraman Ramakrishnan]] and [[Thomas A. Steitz]], and [[Ada Yonath|Ada E. Yonath]] won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for imaging the [[ribosome]] with atomic resolution through their use of x-ray [[crystallography]] at the NSLS and other synchrotron light sources.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bnl.gov/bnlweb/history/nobel/nobel_09.asp |title= Nobel Prize &#124; 2009 Chemistry Prize, Venkatraman Ramakrishnan and Thomas A. Steitz |publisher=Bnl.gov |accessdate=July 25, 2012}}</ref>

====User statistics====
The National Synchrotron Light Source hosted more than 2,200 users from 41 U.S. states and 30 other countries in 2009.<ref name="User Statistics ">{{cite web |title=National User Facilities at Brookhaven Lab|url=https://www.bnl.gov/bnlweb/pubaf/fact_sheet/pdf/FS_UserFacilities.pdf|publisher=BNL.gov|accessdate=August 4, 2010}}</ref> In 2009, there were 658 journal publications and 764 total publications including journal publications, books, patents, thesis, and reports.<ref name="NSLS Activity">{{cite web |title=NSLS Activity Report 2009|url=http://www.nsls.bnl.gov/newsroom/publications/activityreport/|publisher=BNL.gov|accessdate=August 4, 2010}}</ref>

==NSLS-II==
The NSLS was permanently shutdown on September 30, 2014, after more than 30 years of service.<ref name=":0" /> It was replaced by the [[NSLS-II]], which was designed to be 10,000 times brighter.<ref name="NSLS-II: The future NSLS">{{cite web|title=About the NSLS-II Project|url=https://www.bnl.gov/nsls2/|accessdate=August 4, 2010|publisher=BNL.gov}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Center for Functional Nanomaterials]]
*[[List of synchrotron radiation facilities]]
*[[Synchrotron radiation]]
*[[Synchrotron]]
*[[United States Department of Energy national laboratories]]

==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==External links==
*[https://www.bnl.gov/ps/nsls/about-NSLS.asp Original NSLS web page]
*[https://www.bnl.gov/ps/ BNL: National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II)]
*[https://www.bnl.gov/ps/nsls2/about-NSLS-II.php BNL Photon Sciences: About NSLS-II]
*[https://www.bnl.gov/world/ Brookhaven National Laboratory – a passion for discovery]
*[http://www.lightsources.org Lightsources.org]

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[[Category:Brookhaven National Laboratory]]
[[Category:Particle physics facilities]]
[[Category:Synchrotron radiation facilities]]