InternalThe Hamburg area will soon boast a research facility of superlatives: The European XFEL will generate ultrashort X-ray flashes – 27 000 times per second and with a brilliance that is a billion times higher than that of the best conventional X-ray radiation sources. Thanks to its outstanding characteristics, which are unique worldwide, the facility will open up completely new research opportunities for scientists and industrial users.
Research
Smaller, faster, more intense: The European XFEL will open up areas of research that were previously inaccessible. Using the X-ray flashes of the European XFEL, scientists will be able to map the atomic details of viruses, decipher the molecular composition of cells, take threedimensional images of the nanoworld, film chemical reactions and study processes such as those occurring deep inside planets.
How it works
To generate the X-ray flashes, bunches of electrons will first be accelerated to high energies and then directed through special arrangements of magnets (undulators). In the process, the particles will emit radiation that is increasingly amplified until an extremely short and intense X-ray flash is finally created. (More about how it works)
The European XFEL will generate X-ray radiation with properties similar to those of laser light. There will be several light sources with different characteristics. (More about the light sources)
Location
The European XFEL will be located mainly in underground tunnels, which can be accessed on three different sites. The 3.4-kilometre-long facility will run from DESY in Hamburg to the town of Schenefeld (Schleswig-Holstein). The Schenefeld site will host the research campus on whichinternational teams of scientists will carry out experiments with the X-ray flashes. (More on the location and the sites of the European XFEL)
European XFEL GmbH
To construct and operate the European XFEL, international partners agreed on the foundation of an independent research organization – a non-profit limited liability company under German law named the European XFEL GmbH. The company will have a workforce of about 300 people. At present, 12 countries are participating in the project (Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland). China is planning to join in.
Construction project
The European XFEL is being realized as a joint effort of many partners. To this end, the European XFEL GmbH cooperates closely with the research centre DESY and other organizations worldwide. Construction started in early 2009; the beginning of commissioning is planned for 2014.
The construction costs of the facility, which include the commissioning, amount to 1082 million Euro (price levels of 2005). As the host country, Germany (the federal government, Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein) covers 54 percent of these costs. Russia bears 23 percent and the other international partners between 1 and 3.5 percent.
To a great extent, the European XFEL facility will be realized by means of in-kind contributions by shareholders and partners.
