Thanks to KAREN New Zealand imaging scientists will be able to access beamlines from the Australian Synchrotron to research biotechnology and materials science.

Advanced Materials Research at the Australian Synchrotron 

New Zealand imaging scientists and practitioners have been involved in the development of the Australian Synchrotron with the first suite of operational beamlines expected to come on line through 2007. They will be able to use KAREN to access a range of synchrotron based capabilities to pursue a wide range of research, particularly in the areas of biotechnology and materials science.

Jim Metson, Professor at the University of Auckland and New Zealand representative on the National Scientific Advisory Committee for the Australian Synchrotron project, believes the potential of this project is huge for New Zealand.

“New Zealand scientists have been using synchrotron facilities in other countries for some time, however the creation of the Australian synchrotron just across the Tasman will mean significant improvements in capability, accessibility and opportunities for collaboration,” says Jim.

Harnessing capabilities through KAREN 

“The arrival of KAREN is a key part of harnessing the capabilities of the synchrotron. KAREN will provide a high-speed, high-capacity link to the synchrotron, enabling real-time, direct access to synchrotron facilities and data generated from experiments. Several of the beamlines have robotic and remote operation programmed into their early development, so the concept of real time manipulation of experiments from your desktop is not far away.”

Application

Jim says that better access to synchrotrons will open up whole new fields in his area of expertise, materials science.

“One application has been in the material which is used in blue light emitting diodes - gallium nitride - which is already the basis of a new range of electronic devices. Because blue light is shorter in wavelength than red, the DVDs are increasingly using blue laser light. The shorter wavelength means you have much higher information density and you can fit much more on a disc.”

“I’ve been working with a group in Wellington on different ways of making gallium nitride, and far more exotic nitrides and using a synchrotron has been crucial in understanding what we are able to make and not make.”

More about the Australian Synchrotron

The Australian Synchrotron is a large machine (about the size of a football field) that accelerates electrons to almost the speed of light. As the electrons are deflected through magnetic fields they create extremely bright light. The light is channeled down beamlines to experimental workstations where it is used for looking at materials in sub-microscopic detail for research purposes and for the discovery and manufacture of new materials.

The Australian Synchrotron is being constructed near the campus of Monash University, Melbourne.

New Zealand is a foundation investor in the synchrotron. The investor is the New Zealand Synchrotron Group Limited; a company formed by Auckland, Massey, Waikato, Victoria, Lincoln, Canterbury and Otago universities, Crop and Food Limited, AgResearch Limited, IRL Limited and GNS Science Limited.

More information

http://www.synchrotron.vic.gov.au