Accelerator Activities at DESY
by
Maxwell Auditorium
ALBA Synchrotron
Abstract
Accelerators are central to the enabling infrastructure at the Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY in Germany, supporting cutting-edge research and innovation. Currently,DESY operates three major accelerator-based light sources: two free-electron lasers (FELs) and one hard X-ray synchrotron.
FLASH, the world’s first X-ray FEL based on superconducting radio frequency (SRF) technology, began operation in 2000 and became a user facility in 2005, dedicated to soft X-ray science. Recent upgrades include higher photon energies and full coherence through seeding. Since 2017, the European XFEL – driven by DESY’s 2 km SRF accelerator – has delivered the world’s highest-energy X-ray pulses at repetition rates up to 27,000 pulses/s, enabling milestones such as attosecond hard X-rays, terawatt peak powers, and a cavity- based X-ray FEL demonstrator.
PETRA III began operation in 2010 and was until recently the brightest low-emittance hard X-ray synchrotron worldwide. Its planned successor, PETRA IV, has now been shortlisted for prioritization for the German national roadmap for scientific infrastructure investments.
Beyond these flagship facilities, DESY maintains a strong accelerator R&D program supporting future upgrades of FLASH and the European XFEL, alongside a world-leading laser- and beam-driven plasma acceleration effort. This work targets applications in photon science, particle physics, and compact accelerator systems. A key initiative is the Plasma Injector for PETRA IV (PIPIV), aiming to develop a full-energy 6 GeV plasma-based injection system.
