Construction et exploitation d'une ligne de nanotomographie au synchrotron SOLEIL

The objective of the NanoImages-X project, started on 01/09/2012, is the construction and initial operation  of  a hard X-ray beamline for advanced nanoimaging and tomography with coherent X-rays (ANATOMIX) at Synchrotron SOLEIL.  The method of X-ray micro- and nano-tomography aims at the reconstruction of models of 3D objects via measurements of their 2D X-ray absorption profiles regularly sampled at different object orientations. ANATOMIX provides microtomography at photon energies between 5 and 50 keV and nanotomography at a spatial resolution down to 100 nm via transmission X-ray microscopy (TXM). Phase 1 (installation) and phase 2 (exploitation) of the project are currently running contemporaneously, with the project due to end on 31st  December 2019.

The construction of this very long beamline is fast approaching completion, and the expected performance of the beamline, in terms of spatial resolution for both micro-tomography and TXM modes, has been demonstrated. Partial user operation, in parallel with the final steps in construction and equipment testing, began in April 2018 (www.synchrotron-soleil.fr/en/news/first-users-anatomix). A total of 11 academic user projects have been approved and either performed or scheduled on the beamline, and the first publications arising from beamline use are in preparation. The state of the art beam properties are also being investigated in an industrial context with a series of test experiments already underway.  Approximately  30% of beamtime is currently available to user projects, with the remainder being given to an intensive installation and commissioning operations. The percentage of available user time will gradually increase over the next 12 months.

SOLEIL is currently preparing a proposal for upgrade, to an extremely high brilliance lattice, of the storage ring and beamlines. Such an upgrade, if realised, will offer significant opportunities for ANATOMIX in the future.