ESRF – European Synchrotron Radiation Facility

Sweden is a member of ESRF via Nordsync, a Nordic association initiated by Nordforsk. ESRF is Europe’s largest synchrotron light facility, located in Grenoble in France, with 22 European countries as members. The ESRF ring is operated with an energy rating of 6.0 GeV, which means its strength lies within the hard X-ray area. There are currently 43 beamlines available for users, and an additional number are being reconstructed as part of a comprehensive upgrade. Nearly all synchrotron light-based methods are available at ESRF. Swedish researchers use ESRF for procedures such as structural biology investigations, for determining atomic and electron structures in materials in standard states and under high pressure and/or high temperature, investigating metals in biological systems, determining reaction dynamics in catalytic systems, and for three-dimensional imaging of fossil animals and plants, for example (tomography).

ESRF is going through an upgrade programme to further improve the facility’s performance. The first stage of two has been completed, and the second is in progress 2015–2022. The ongoing upgrade means that ESRF will have characteristics that are comparable with the large ring at MAX IV, with significantly increased brilliance and coherence of the X-ray radiation.