Advanced Photon Source | Argonne National Laboratory

The Advanced Photon Source provides the brightest storage ring-generated X-ray beams in the Western Hemisphere to more than 5,000 scientists worldwide.

Events and Announcements

October 31 : Wednesday

APS/Users Operations Monthly Meeting

APS Meeting | 402-AUD @ 2:30 PM

November 2 : Friday

Data Evaluation using CONUSS and PHOENIX

APS Workshop | - @ 9:00 AM

User Science Seminar

APS Seminar | 401-A1100 @ 12:00 PM

Reminders

Beam Time Application Deadline:
October 26, 2012
Workshop on Data Evaluation using CONUSS and PHOENIX:
November 2-4, 2012
APS/CNM/EMC Users Meeting:
May 6-9, 2013

Science and Research Highlights

How Lead-Free Solder (Mis)Behaves under Stress

October 13, 2012

The reliability and longevity of electronics is critical to our world that is dependent upon Internet and telecommunications technology. Research at the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science’s Advanced Photon is bringing new information about thermal fatigue in environmentally friendly, lead-free solder joints. These insights bring scientists a step closer to developing useful models for making reliability predictions about solder-joint failure in this important new material.

Outsmarting Flu Viruses

October 9, 2012

A method for neutralizing influenza B viruses has been discovered by researchers working at the Argonne Advanced Photon Source and two other U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science synchrotron light sources. Their breakthrough results pave the way for development of a universal vaccine for all influenza A and B viruses.

Dynamics of Polymer Chains Atop Different Materials

September 24, 2012

Technologies such as microelectronics and lithography require nanoscale polymer films that sit on other materials. An understanding of the interplay between the dynamics of thin film and underlying substrate is crucial in determining the appropriate materials to be utilized for new and improved applications. Experiments at the Argonne Advanced Photon Source provide important new insights about thin polymer films on various substrates.

Priming the Pump in the Fight against Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis

September 11, 2012

Drug resistance has become an increasing problem in the treatment of tuberculosis, posing a significant challenge for combating a disease that has been a leading cause of death worldwide for more than 5,000 years. Utilizing the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science’s Advanced Photon Source, researchers unlocked the secrets of a protein that plays an important role in tuberculosis’s multidrug resistance, helping guide future research toward new ways of controlling this disease.

The Ties that Bind Metals to Proteins

September 7, 2012

Metals such as copper, zinc, and iron are important nutrients and are technologically useful. More than one-third of all proteins are thought to bind metals, so knowing which metals are bound and how that binding changes in response to the environment could have big implications. Researchers working at the Argonne Advanced Photon Source developed a new experimental approach that helps researchers identify which proteins bind metals and what roles they play in life.

A Novel Nanobio Catalyst for Biofuels

August 27, 2012

Researchers working at U.S. Department of Energy facilities at Argonne National Laboratory including the Advanced Photon Source, have synthesized and characterized monodisperse gold-core silver-shell nanoparticles using a bio-template that has potential as a water soluble catalyst for creating fuel from biomass such as dead trees, branches and tree stumps, yard clippings, wood chips, and even municipal solid waste.

Multiple Crystal Cavities for Unlimited X-ray Energy Resolution and Coherence

August 21, 2012

Researchers from Argonne National Laboratory, Brookhaven National Laboratory, and Nanjing University have demonstrated the principles of a novel and advanced design of x-ray Fabry-Perot resonators, which are shown illustrated to have extremely high finesse, sharp tails, and ultrahigh contrast and can achieve unprecedented high resolution and (temporal) coherence, for use with hard x-rays at large incidence angles.

An Intriguing Twist in the Structure of a Cobalt Oxide Catalyst

August 14, 2012

Hydrogen is a clean fuel, but how can we generate hydrogen in large quantities and in a “green” fashion? One way is biological photosynthesis, which includes an efficient reaction step that splits water into hydrogen and oxygen with the help of certain catalysts. Working at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory, a team of Argonne scientists has determined the structure of one such catalyst, a complex cobalt oxide.