Polish scientists involved in the construction of Europe's largest laser

During the inaugural lecture at Wrocław University of Technology, XFEL Managing Director Prof. Massimo Altarelli spoke of the XFEL (X-ray Free Electron Laser), and the importance of a large research infrastructure for the development of modern technology and science. In his speech, he emphasized the involvement of Polish groups of scientists responsible for the critical components of the system.

According to the spokesman of the National Centre for Nuclear Research, Marek Sieczkowski, Polish involvement in the construction of one of the world’s largest research infrastructures is possible with the exemplary cooperation between domestic universities and research institutes. The exchange of experiences of scientists from Wrocław University of Technology and the National Centre for Nuclear Research (Narodowe Centrum Badań Jądrowych, NCBJ) resulted in the development in Wrocław Technology Park of a cryostat, technologically advanced cryogenic device weighing 5 tons, measuring 4.5 meters in height and 1 meter in diameter.

It is used for testing superconducting resonators driving the XFEL. Scientists and technicians from Wrocław have also developed the cryogenic line. Special installation with a length of 160 meters, placed on a bridge with a height of 8 meters, will transport helium at 2 degrees Kelvin (minus 271 degrees Celsius), necessary for testing the key XFEL components: superconducting resonators for the electron accelerator.

"By partnering with NCBJ we have developed advanced cryogenic technologies that can be successfully used in various industries and other large research laboratories" - emphasised Prof. Maciej Chorowski, initiator of the involvement of Wrocław University of Technology in the construction of cryostats for the XFEL.

Researchers from Kraków are also involved in the construction of the XFEL. They have already provided specialized software to the French research centre CEA Saclay, where individual components tested at the research centre DESY in Hamburg will be assembled in modules (with a length of 12 meters each) and sent back to Germany for final measurements. Only upon successful examination by experts from Kraków they will be put into the ground, where 116 of them, arranged one behind the other, will form the laser accelerator.

In turn, the National Centre for Nuclear Research makes for the XFEL more than 1.6 thousand special antennas, more than 800 decoders and more than 100 power absorbers for eliminating electromagnetic field noise induced in the laser resonators. In addition, experts from NCBJ take part in the work on the accelerator control system.

"It should be emphasized that the Polish contribution, mainly in kind (worth 28.8 million euros), to the constroction of one of the major research infrastructures means that Poland will co-own not only the device itself, but also the knowledge created during its construction - emphasised Prof. Grzegorz Wrochna, director of NCBJ - Giving us the task of developing important components of the laser shows great confidence of the international community in the work carried out in Poland. It is an invaluable experience in the construction of individual components, access to unique know-how, which not only makes it possible to train Polish staff and use the potential of our industry, but also results in raising the status and competence of Poland internationally. We sincerely hope to use the opportunities opening before us to build POLFEL, Polish free electron laser, which will be an important complementary tool for the already built XFEL. We are waiting for a decision on the funding of the domestic project."

Free electron laser is being built in Germany since 2009 by a group of 12 European countries, including Poland. XFEL project will cost about 1.1 billion euros. In 2015 it is planned to complete the construction of all facilities and start testing. The device will generate tens of thousands of ultra-short pulses of laser light per second, with intensity billion times higher than the intensity of beams emitted by the best conventional X-ray sources.

It will allow scientists to image detailed structures of viruses (development of future medicines), penetrate the molecular cell function mechanisms, record 3D images of nanoworld objects, film chemical reactions (e.g., the formation or breaking of chemical bonds), and to explore the processes occurring in the interior of planets and stars. The device will also allow modification of existing materials and the development of entirely new ones.

Source: Science and Scholarship in Poland