25 Oct 2022 14:50

Physicists in Russia's Novosibirsk launch first segment of SKIF synchrotron's linear accelerator

NOVOSIBIRSK. Oct 25 (Interfax) - The Institute of Nuclear Physics in Novosibirsk has tested the first segment of a linear accelerator for the Siberian Circular Photon Source (SKIF) shared research facility, an Interfax correspondent said in a report.

"Today is a remarkable day, a special one. In fact, a new installation was born, this is the very first, most difficult stage in the formation of an [electronic] beam of the required quality," Institute Director Pavel Logachev told reporters.

The beam launched on Tuesday had the energy of 1 million electron volts, while the Institute made the first microwave gun for a linear accelerator, he said.

It will take the Institute 12 to 18 months to develop the accelerator's software.

The fully assembled linear accelerator has a rated capacity of 200 million electron volts. At first, the beam enters the storage ring where it is accelerated to 3 billion electron volts before going into the main accelerating ring.

As reported earlier, the Institute produced elements of the intermediate (booster) ring of the accelerator and started mass production of elements of the main accelerating ring of SKIF. In December 2024, they seek to launch both the synchrotron and the first stations, which were planned to be created by the end of 2024 and to begin their trial run in early 2025.

Two government contracts have been signed for the SKIF project. One of them, with a value of 3.620 billion rubles, envisages the construction of a linear accelerator and a booster synchrotron, i.e. an engineering complex. The other government contract stipulates the production, assembly, delivery and commissioning of technologically complex equipment of the SKIF accelerator system and has a value of 8.93 billion rubles. Under this contract, the Institute will build a storage ring and devices to generate synchrotron emission and to deliver it to user stations.

All equipment must be ready by December 31, 2023.

The construction of the SKIF synchrotron began on August 25, 2021, near the Koltsovo science town in the Novosibirsk region, not far from the Vector State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology.

SKIF will consist of 30 experimental stations, including 14 which will use the emission from plug-in devices (placed in straight sections of the main ring with a length of four to six meters), and 16 will be placed on beams of bending magnets.

It is planned to launch the synchrotron and one station by December 30, 2023.

The stations will aim at deciphering biopolymers' structure, mechanisms of functioning of living organisms, the transmission of hereditary information, and the mechanism of action of drugs, as well as at creating new materials, studying rapid processes, etc.

SKIF will be the world's first generation 4+ source of synchronized emission operating in the 3 GeV energy range.

The cost of the SKIF project was initially estimated at 37.1 billion rubles. It has grown to 47.3 billion rubles due to higher prices on building and other materials.