UK XFEL
Welcome to the UK XFEL programme.
STFC are working with UK academics to investigate options to deliver an advanced next-generation X-ray free electron laser (XFEL) facility. This would create new opportunities across science and industry, helping to answer pressing scientific questions and contribute to solving societal challenges of major importance.
UK XFEL is currently in a three-year process to map out how best to deliver advanced, next generation XFEL capabilities and create a conceptual design for a next generation machine which would fulfil the needs of national and international science interests.
Download the science case in full, or read the 2023 refreshed overview here (opens in new tab).
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Input into the machine parameters by completing our science survey here (opens in new tab).
UK XFEL – science opportunities
High brightness ultra-fast x-ray pulses from an X-ray FEL allow the simultaneous imaging of atomic scale structure, electronic state and dynamics in a material. There is no other technology that can do that. The unique science opportunities that these machines can open-up include:
- access to structural dynamics
- new modes of nanoscopic imaging
- access to transient states
- the potential to capture rare events
These are broadly applicable capabilities that provide a completely new window into matter and dynamics with impact across a wide landscape of science and technology. They will be used alongside other modalities to increase our abilities to probe and control matter.