Third generation of synchrotron light will be supplied in the next year.

Pohang Accelerator Laboratory (PAL) observed a successful trial run of advanced third generation accelerator.
PLS-Ⅱ, the improvement started in 2009, aims for a higher accuracy and a ninety percent reduced time period of experiments. The first trial run was conducted on Aug. 5, and continuing trials are still in process. The new light source will be available to users within the next year.

Professor Moonhor Ree of the Department of Chemistry, also the director of PAL, said “Scientists are expected to create more excellent research outcomes by using the advanced accelerator. Accumulated experiences and technical skills produced PLS-Ⅱ, and it will be the foundation of building a fourth generation accelerator, which is in consideration.”

First operated in 1995, the third generation synchrotron light source of PAL, also called Pohang light Source (PLS), has been utilized in research fields of natural science, applied science, and engineering. By using synchrotron light, materials can be recognized in a scale of molecules.

The accelerator is composed of a linear accelerator, storage ring, and beam line. After the bundle of electrons is generated at the end of the linear accelerator, they are accelerated and enter the storage ring. Magnets are use to bend the electron beam; then, centripetally accelerated electrons emit light. Finally, emitted light is gathered in the beam line and used for experiments.

In PLS-Ⅱ, the energy of emitted light is enlarged to 3.0GeV from 2.5GeV of ordinary PLS. Also, the current of the electron beam in the storage ring is twice the original size, which means more intense light can be obtained. In addition, the smaller emission of the beam produces a hundred-times brighter light.