Accelerator

PETRA IV will be a fourth-generation synchrotron radiation source with which the principle of storage-ring-based light sources reaches its physical limit. It will be built in the existing 2300-metre ring tunnel of PETRA III, and the existing instruments and infrastructure will be partially recycled.

A significant conversion step

The existing electromagnets in the storage ring will be replaced by a larger number of permanent magnets. Around 4000 magnets are to be installed around the ring. This will also help to save energy because, unlike electromagnets, permanent magnets do not require any electric current to run. 

View through a quadrupole electromagnet.
View through a magnet, here a quadrupole electromagnet. Image: DESY, Rolf Otzipka

By installing the new magnets, the experts have one main goal: The permanent magnets force the electrons bunches in the ring onto a much more precise circular path. Thanks to the more precise deflection, the electrons bunches will be held together much more tightly than before.

“The smaller electron bunches will emit X-rays that are much more narrowly focused, by a factor of 100 to 1000.”
Portrait of Christian Schroer
Christian Schroer DESY physicist and scientific director of PETRA III
Jana Barker, engineer at DESY, and a colleague check the accelerator's magnets.

Magnets are the heart of PETRA IV

Jana Barker monitors the transport of the support frames for the PETRA IV magnets, which weigh several tonnes, with high-precision instruments.

Transport of a magnet

Der beste Beschleuniger der Welt

PETRA IV will be built according to an innovative design and will become a world leader.
 

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PETRA IV Project Office

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Further research topics

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