Our vision for MAX IV
In 2016, MAX IV completed commissioning its 3 GeV ring, the first fourth-generation storage ring in the world. With unprecedented performance, this new accelerator paved the way for a new era of X-ray science, enabled by this revolutionary light source with ultrabright X-ray beams. Currently, four more light sources (ESRF-EBS in France, Sirius in Brazil, APS-U in the USA, and SLS-2 in Switzerland) are upgraded to fourth-generation synchrotron sources, with many more to come online by the end of the next decade. Overall, the accelerator community is making considerable advancements to Multi-Bend Achromat (MBA)-type lattices and their interdependencies with many key accelerator components. This is to such an extent that, whereas MAX IV paved the way for fourth-generation light sources, we will have a difficult time competing with other synchrotrons in the future.
Ensuring excellence through efficient upgrade
With this in mind, we developed our vision for the laboratory to ensure the excellence, relevance, and leadership of Swedish academic and industrial research with X-rays for the next decades. This is called MAX 4U, and is our proposal to upgrade our 3GeV storage ring. MAX 4U will reduce the 3GeV ring horizontal emittance from the current nominal value of 328pm×rad to better than 100pm×rad on the horizon of the early 2030s. The exploration of the complex phase space of accelerator parameters for MAX 4U is ongoing. More broadly, MAX 4U captures a window of opportunity for MAX IV, as a laboratory, to return to the forefront of synchrotron lightsources, as illustrated in Figure 1.
In contrast with ongoing “conventional” upgrades of lightsources across the globe from third to fourth-generation synchrotrons, our goal is to realise the first fourth-generation upgrade as a “surgical” intervention, in which a performance boost is reached in both a cost- and a time-effective way by minimizing changes to the existing hardware while lessening disruptions to our user science programme. Moreover, while our beamline portfolio matures, MAX 4U will ensure that MAX IV’s research environment remains the place of choice in Europe to continue developing accelerator technology that supports X-ray science and instrumentation.
New opportunities for research
Beyond an accelerator upgrade, MAX 4U conjointly translates into opportunities for beamline performance improvements over the entire X-ray photon energy range. Overall, with MAX 4U, the laboratory will assert its position to continue offering a diverse portfolio of X-ray characterisation methods, with world-leading performances that will undoubtedly support the future research needs of academic and industrial research in Sweden. More importantly, it will ensure that MAX IV, as a multidisciplinary research infrastructure, remains a leading platform to contribute to accelerating science, discovery, and innovation.
Questions about MAX4U?
In the left-hand column, you’ll find more information on technical specifications and an FAQ.
If you don’t find your answer, don’t hesitate to contact us at max4u@maxiv.lu.se.