Resumption of full scientific operation at BESSY II delayed
the 7-Tesla Multipole Wiggler: after one year working on it, the wiggler came back from Novosibirsk as planned but had to be removed from the storage ring again. The reason for highly elevated operating temperatures are investigated.
While the lengthy summer shutdown with its comprehensive updating and maintenance work has been completed as planned, there have been some unforeseeable disruptions that will delay the resumption of regular Top-Up operations at present. The scientific operating time for users which was unavailable in October will be made up at the beginning of 2014.
Initial operation of the storage ring has been successfully commenced; however the electron source of the Linac has displayed unexpected arcing voltages. Storage ring injection has therefore been transferred from the Linac over to the Microtron. The repair work is progressing with the goal of being able to use the Linac again as soon as possible.
As long as injection is being carried out with the help of the Microtron, comprehensive operation in Top-Up mode is not possible, unfortunately, while insertion of the usual individual pulses into the gaps of multi-pulses in hybrid mode is not available.
Due to the problems with the Linac, no external scientific work could take place during the second week of October. The down-time will made up through an additional operating week at the beginning of 2014.
External scientific work with BESSY II resumed on 15 October: during the day, the storage ring will only be operated in restricted decay mode, however, while at night in reduced Top-Up mode. This assures that scientific use is available for the majority of BESSY II users.
Moreover, the 7-Tesla Multipole Wiggler, which supplies the EDDI, MAGS, and ASAXS beamlines with hard X-ray radiation, displayed highly elevated operating temperatures and had to be removed from the storage ring again. Repairs are in progress, though the Wiggler will probably only be able to come online again in December, however.
This means that external scientific work with the three beamlines mentioned above cannot take place probably until the end of the year.
All members of the BESSY II team keenly regret these unforeseen restrictions to our users as well as our own in-house colleagues. They request your understanding and are working hard to restore comprehensive external operation again as quickly as possible.
Current information about operational status of BESSY II can be viewed on the informational systems of BESSY II in the internet at http://infosystem.bessy.de/
- 3D magnetic field experiment at BESSY II takes spintronics a step further(Fe0.63Ni0.3Pd0.07)3P or FNPP is a magnetic material that exhibits complex magnetic structures even at room temperature. This makes the material of interest for spintronics, a field that could enable data processing with significantly lower energy consumption. One potential application is novel magnetic memory devices. However, generating and modifying the desired structures in a controlled manner remains a challenge to date. A new study led by HZB has now taken a step forward in this regard. They demonstrated at the worldwide unique VEKMAG-Station at BESSY II, that a tiny external B-field in the plane of the magnetic patterns is sufficient to change them.
- Confirmed figures for the first time: Investments in BESSY are worthwhile for Berlin and GermanyAn impact analysis by DIW Econ demonstrates the scientific and economic value of BESSY II. Every euro invested yields three euros for Germany and as much as ten euros for the State of Berlin. Furthermore, the study provides an economic forecast for the construction of BESSY III.
The impact analysis was presented on 3 September 2026 to Dr Henry Marx, State Secretary for Science and Research in the Berlin Senate. He supports the investment and is a strong advocate for BESSY III. - Detailed insights at BESSY II into the oxidation processes of copperBefore pure copper oxide builds up, complex superstructures such as ‘29’CuxO, are formed. The new results on the '29' CuxO superstructure have relevance for catalyst research and corrosion protection in the development of safe copper containers for nuclear waste repositories.