Smart*Light X-ray

Over Smart*Light X-ray

The consortium Smart*Light develops a compact and portable bright X-ray source with variable wavelength, a ‘tabletop synchrotron’. Smart*Light will eventually be used in clinical applications for medical diagnostics, in research laboratories for developing new materials and in museums to investigate important art works. The consortium consists of 12 organizations and currently receives funding from the European Regional Development Fund (Interreg Flandres – The Netherlands).

For advanced applications, such as the development of high-tech materials or new medicines, ‘coherent’ high-intensity X-rays are indispensable. Nowadays, this type of radiation is only produced in synchrotrons, large (km-long) accelerators in which electrons move at nearly the speed of light. By using synchrotron radiation, changes in materials and tissue can be mapped very accurately in terms of location and time. However, the poor availability of high-energy synchrotron radiation puts serious limits to the experimental possibilities. In many cases, transport to synchrotron facilities is unfeasible.

Smart*Light uses new accelerator technology to convert laser light into intense and coherent X-radiation by means of collisions (by ‘Inverse Compton Scattering’) with a high-energetic beam of electrons. This radiation enables state-of-the-art analysis that can be valuable for various public and private sectors, including materials science, medical diagnostics and cultural heritage. Although Smart*Light will not aim at replacing existing synchrotron facilities, it will provide a valuable addition due to its compact design. As a consequence, users will be less dependent on the scarce experimental time slots at large synchrotrons.

Trefwoorden

• Tabletop Synchrotron
• X-Ray

Adres

• Hoofdkantoor

  2628CD DelftZuid-Holland, Nederland