Here’s what makes a small synchrotron ‘big’ news. Synchrotrons (also called synchrotorn light sources) are very expensive and very large. Most countries have one only; if they have any synchrotrons at at all. (I believe there are approximately 40 worldwide.) For anyone who doesn’t know what a synchrotron is, there’s an explanation from the Canadian Light Source’s What is a synchrotron? webpage,
Overview
A synchrotron produces different kinds of light in order to study the structural and chemical properties of materials at the molecular level. This is possible by looking at the ways light interacts with the individual molecules of a material.
The CLS synchrotron produces light by accelerating electrons to nearly the speed of light and directing the electrons around a ring. The electrons are directed around the ring by a combination of radio frequency waves and powerful electromagnets. When the electrons go around the bends, they give off energy in the form of incredibly bright and highly focused light. Different types of light, primarily infrared and X-ray, are directed down to the end of beamlines, where researchers use the light for their experiments at endstations. Each beamline and endstation at the CLS is designed for a specific type of experiment.
For the first time, researchers can study the microstructures inside metals, ceramics and rocks with X-rays in a standard laboratory without needing to travel to a particle accelerator, according to a study led by University of Michigan engineers.
The new technique makes 3D X-ray diffraction — known as 3DXRD — more readily accessible, potentially enabling quick analysis of samples and prototypes in academia and industry, as well as providing more opportunities for students.
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Once only possible in specialized shared-use facilities, the newly developed laboratory scale three-dimensional x-ray diffraction (Lab-3DXRD) opens up more opportunities for student use. Yuefeng Jin, a doctoral student of mechanical engineering at U-M, carefully positions a metal sample for measurement. Image credit: Marcin Szczepanski, Michigan Engineering
Synchrotron in a closet: Bringing powerful 3D X-ray microscopy to smaller labs
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3DXRD reconstructs 3D images using X-rays taken at multiple angles, similar to a CT scan. Instead of the imaging device rotating about a patient, a few-millimeters-wide material sample rotates on a stand in front of a powerful beam with about a million times more X-rays than a medical X-ray.
The huge X-ray concentration produces a micro-cale image of the tiny fused crystals that make up most metals, ceramics and rocks—known as polycrystalline materials.
Results help researchers understand how materials react to mechanical stresses by measuring thousands of individual crystals’ volume, position, orientation and strain. For example, imaging a sample from a steel beam under compression can show how crystals respond to bearing the weight of a building, helping researchers understand large-scale wear.
Synchrotrons were once the only facilities able to produce enough X-rays for 3DXRD as electrons spit off scads of X-rays as they travel through circular particle accelerators, which can then be directed into a sample.
While synchrotron X-ray beams produce state-of-the-art detail, there are only about 70 facilities world-wide. Research teams must put together project proposals for “beam time.” Accepted projects often must wait six months to up to two years to run their experiments, which are limited to a maximum of six days.
In an effort to make this technique more widely available, the research team worked with PROTO Manufacturing to custom build the first laboratory-scale 3DXRD. As a whole, the instrument is about the size of a residential bathroom, but could be scaled down to the size of a broom closet.
“This technique gives us such interesting data that I wanted to create the opportunity to try new things that are high risk, high reward and allow teachable moments for students without the wait-time and pressure of synchrotron beam time,” said Ashley Bucsek, U-M assistant professor of mechanical engineering and materials science and engineering and co-corresponding author of the study published in Nature Communications.
Previously, small-scale devices could not produce enough X-rays for 3DXRD because at a certain point, the electron beam pumps so much power into the anode—the solid metal surface that the electrons strike to make X-rays—that it would melt. Lab-3DXRD leverages a liquid-metal-jet anode that is already liquid at room temperature, allowing it to take in more power and produce more X-rays than once possible at this scale.
The researchers put the design to the test by scanning the same titanium alloy sample using three methods: lab-3DXRD, synchrotron-3DXRD and laboratory diffraction contrast tomography or LabDCT—a technique used to map out crystal structures in 3D without strain information.
Lab-3DXRD was highly accurate, with 96% of the crystals it picked up overlapping with the other two methods. It did particularly well with larger crystals over 60 micrometers, but missed some of the smaller crystals. The researchers note that adding a more sensitive photon-counting detector, which detects the X-rays that are used to build the images, could help catch the finest-grained crystals.
With this technique available in-house, Bucsek’s research team can try new experiments, honing parameters to prepare for a larger experiment at a synchrotron.
“Lab-3DXRD is like a nice backyard telescope while synchrotron-3DXRD is the Hubble Telescope. There are still certain situations where you need the Hubble, but we are now well prepared for those big experiments because we can try everything out beforehand,” Bucsek said.
Beyond enabling more accessible experiments, lab-3DXRD allows researchers to extend projects past the synchrotron six day limit, which is particularly helpful when studying cyclic loading—how a material responds to repeated stresses over thousands of cycles.
First author and co-corresponding author Seunghee Oh, a research fellow in mechanical engineering at the time of the study, now works in the X-ray Science Division at Argonne National Laboratory.
The research is funded by the National Science Foundation (CMMI-2142302; DMR-1829070) and the U.S. Department of Energy (Award DE-SC0008637).
Researchers from PROTO Manufacturing also contributed to the study.
There seems to be renewed interest in nuclear science as measured by the frequency of the research I’m stumbling across and as evidenced by this March 18, 2025 news item on phys.org,
Physicists have measured a nuclear reaction that can occur in neutron star collisions, providing direct experimental data for a process that had previously only been theorized. The study, led by the University of Surrey, provides new insight into how the universe’s heaviest elements are forged—and could even drive advancements in nuclear reactor physics.
Working in collaboration with the University of York, the University of Seville, and TRIUMF, Canada’s national particle accelerator centre, the breakthrough marks the first-ever measurement of a weak r-process reaction cross-section using a radioactive ion beam, in this case studying the 94Sr(α,n)97Zr reaction. This is where a radioactive form of strontium (strontium-94) absorbs an alpha particle (a helium nucleus), then emits a neutron and transforms into zirconium-97.
Dr Matthew Williams, lead author of the study from the University of Surrey, said:
“The weak r-process plays a crucial role in the formation of heavy elements, which astronomers have observed in ancient stars – celestial fossils that carry the chemical fingerprints of perhaps only one prior cataclysmic event, like a supernovae or neutron star merger. Until now, our understanding of how these elements form has relied on theoretical predictions, but this experiment provides the first real-world data to test those models that involve radioactive nuclei.”
The experiment was enabled by the use of novel helium targets. Since helium is a noble gas, meaning it is neither reactive nor solid, researchers at the University of Seville developed an innovative nano-material target, embedding helium inside ultra-thin silicon films to form billions of microscopic helium bubbles, each only a few 10s of nanometres across.
Using TRIUMF’s advanced radioactive ion beam technology, the team accelerated short-lived strontium-94 isotopes into these targets, allowing them to measure the nuclear reaction under conditions similar to those found in extreme cosmic environments.
Dr Williams said:
“This is a major achievement for astrophysics and nuclear physics, and the first-time nanomaterials have been used in this way, opening exciting new possibilities for nuclear research.
“Beyond astrophysics, understanding how radioactive nuclei behave is crucial for improving nuclear reactor design. These types of nuclei are constantly produced in nuclear reactors, but until recently, studying their reactions has been extremely difficult. Reactor physics depends on this kind of data to predict how often components need replacing, how long they’ll last and how to design more efficient, modern systems.”
The next phase of research will apply the findings to astrophysical models, helping scientists to better understand the origins of the heaviest known elements. As researchers continue to explore these processes, their work could deepen our understanding of both the extreme physics of neutron star collisions and practical applications in nuclear technology.
Here’s a citation and a link to the paper,
First Measurement of a Weak 𝑟-Process Reaction on a Radioactive Nucleus by M. Williams, C. Angus, A. M. Laird, B. Davids, C. Aa. Diget, A. Fernandez, E. J. Williams, A. N. Andreye, H. Asch, A. A. Avaa, G. Bartram, S. Chakraborty, I. Dillmann, K. Directo, D. T. Doherty, E. Geerlof, C. J. Griffin, A. Grimes, G. Hackman, J. Henderson, K. Hudson, D. Hufschmidt, J. Jeong, M. C. Jiménez de Haro, V. Karayonchev,, A. Katrusiak, A. Lennarz, G. Lotay, B. Marlow, M. S. Martin, S. Molló, F. Montes, J. R. Murias, J. O’Neill, K. Pak6, C. Paxman, L. Pedro-Botet, A. Psaltis, E. Raleigh-Smith, D. Rhodes, J. S. Rojo, M. Satrazani, T. Sauvage, C. Shenton, C. E. Svensson, D. Tam, L. Wagner, and D. Yates. Phys. Rev. Lett. 134, 112701– Published 17 March, 2025 Vol. 134, Iss. 11 — 21 March 2025. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.134.112701
