Superzoom facility
Focusing the X-rays on the tiniest spot leads to images that are hundreds of times more detailed than anything seen before. This allows experiments to be carried out on all length and time scales that are relevant to biological, chemical and physical processes.
DESY plans to expand its X-ray source PETRA III to become the ultimate 3D X-ray microscope PETRA IV. The new facility wil offer possibilities for analyses that are unparalleled anywhere in the world, zooming deep inside all kinds of materials. PETRA IV will provide improved techniques for studying complex processes in nature and technology in real time and under realistic operating conditions.
For the first time, researchers will then be able to illuminate individual objects on the nanometre scale and record the structure, energetics and function of molecular units in materials and cells under realistic conditions. PETRA IV can thus contribute to the development of materials and technologies of the future. This promises new perspectives for basic research and high technology.
“PETRA IV will revolutionise X-ray imaging. For the first time, natural phenomena in the nanocosmos can be recorded live and non-destructively.”
Enabling innovative technologies
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Materials for sustainable batteries
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High-efficiency catalysts for producing hydrogen
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Tailor-made materials for quantum technologies
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Development of new drugs
A milestone for the overall project
The extensive project is currently in the phase of technical planning, which will be completed with the publication of the “Technical Design Report” (TDR) by mid-2023. The TDR will contain the technical building plans for the accelerator, the X-ray beamlines and the surrounding infrastructure. In addition, it will outline the stages of construction and the order in which they are to be carried out.
“PETRA IV will be the world’s best fourth-generation synchrotron radiation source.”
In Grenoble, France, a similar radiation source is already in operation at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF). Its conversion to a fourth-generation X-ray light source was significantly helped by physicist Harald Reichert, the former research director at ESRF. At DESY, Harald Reichert has taken on the task of a PETRA IV project leader.
Research campus of the future
DESY’s research infrastructure already offers unique opportunities for investigation and experimentation to achieve advances in innovation, technology and medicine. Numerous university institutes and research facilities have settled on the campus. In addition, further new facilities, centres and research buildings are to be built around the DESY campus by 2040.
PETRA IV will be a central large-scale research facility in the future Science City Hamburg Bahrenfeld.
Accelerating careers
Some 2900 DESY employees work at DESY in a wide variety of occupations. Even now, DESY offers a large number of challenging scientific and non-scientific positions with very good career opportunities in connection with implementing the large-scale PETRA IV project. Please feel free to apply online.
Heidrun Hillen
I am happy to answer your questions about PETRA IV.
Further research topics
Healthcare
How can diseases be better tackled?
Sustainability
How can we save resources?
Energy
How do materials become smarter?
New technologies
What do we need for the digital world of tomorrow?
Earth and the environment
How do we preserve our ecosystems?
Cultural heritage
How can we preserve our cultural treasures?