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BL 4-2 Upgrade Project (Updated on June 11, 2008)

The BL4 optics upgrade project allows the operation of the new permanent magnet wiggler at the full field of 2T and at 500mA ring current, completing the upgrades of all insertion device experimental stations at SSRL to take full advantage of the higher brightness provided by the third-generation storage ring SPEAR3. Instead of taking the “scrap and build” approach, we have begun constructing new stations at a different sector on the storage ring in order to accelerate the upgrade project while we maintain experimental activities at the full level until the end of FY2007 user run at BL4-2, minimizing down time. New experimental enclosures are nearly complete in preparation for the installation of new optic components this coming summer. The new wiggler will be relocated during the summer shutdown and experimental facilities will be reconstructed in the fall. The commissioning of new BL4-2 is planned to start toward the end of this year. The new station, equipped with a liquid nitrogen cooled monochromator with each pair of Si(111) crystals and synthetic multilayers, is anticipated to provide a higher beam flux by an order of magnitude in the range of 3x10¹², and 10¹⁴ photons/s using respective monochromator elements in a beam size approximately 0.2mm by 0.8mm (FWHM). The energy range will be extended to 17.5keV for anomalous scattering studies. At the same time, BL4-2 receives extensive upgrades of the experimental facilities, including longer maximum sample-to-detector distances, a fully integrated fiber diffraction setup, and a new highly efficient large-format detector. Currently under vigorous development are a new multi-probe high-throughput solution scattering system, a humidity chamber for lipid/fiber studies and a long list of software developments specifically for biological small angle scattering studies. When completed early next year, new BL4-2 will provide the highly integrated experimental facilities for non-crystalline diffraction studies in structural biology and biophysics at higher spatial and time resolutions, along with improved set up flexibilities and higher data throughput to help scientists overcome new challenges in experimental biology.