PETRA III Foundation-laying ceremony (Sept. 14, 2007)

Laying of the foundation stone

On the occasion of the cornerstone-laying ceremony for the new 280 m long PETRA III experimental hall, among others several scientists, technicians, construction workers and politicians gathered on Friday, September 14, 2007, at DESY.

“Being the most powerful light source of its kind, PETRA III will offer scientists excellent experimental possibilities with short wave X-ray radiation of very high brilliance,” said Professor Albrecht Wagner, Chairman of the DESY Directorate. “With it, a unique combination of radiation facilities will be available at DESY for the national and international user community.”

From 2009 on PETRA III, a new 3rd generation hard X-ray source of the lowest emittance worldwide, will become available for users providing focussed beams down to 10s of nanometer size at 14 undulator beamlines. Nearly 300 meters of the 2.3-kilometer-long storage ring have to be rebuilt completely to convert PETRA into a powerful light source.

The memory plate

The construction costs of the new X-ray source amount to 225 million Euros; mainly financed by funds of the Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF), the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg and the Helmholtz Association. Additional 25 million Euros for experimental facilities will be contributed by partner institutes like EMBL (European Molecular Biology Laboratory), the GKSS Research Centre in Geesthacht, the Max-Planck Society and the Universities of Hamburg and Lübeck.

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