Each laser pulse of the light source can generate more than 100 trillion photons, and the wavelength can be completely continuously adjusted in the extreme ultraviolet region, with complete coherence. The pulse length can be selected between femtosecond (1 femtosecond equals one trillionth of a second) and picosecond mode, and can also be operated in SASE (self-amplified spontaneous emission) or HGHG (high-gain harmonic amplification) mode. A series of advanced technologies have also been adopted, including the introduction of doubly-fed electron linear accelerators, wedge wave undulator technology, etc. 90% of the instruments and equipment in the device are independently developed by China, and the laser pointer shaping system designed and built by China and its stability have reached the international advanced level.
Since the official start of construction, within only two years, the project team has completed the development of major infrastructure projects and main light source devices, and in a short period of time debugged and produced the world’s brightest single-pulse extreme ultraviolet light, creating a similar Chinese New records for the construction of large scientific installations. The completion of the “Dalian Light Source” also laid a solid foundation for China’s future development of higher-energy X-ray free electron lasers.
Large scientific installations refer to large-scale national infrastructures that have been completed through large-scale investment and engineering construction, require long-term stable operation after construction and continue to carry out scientific and technological activities, and aim to achieve important science and technology and public welfare services. Since the first half of the 20th century, with the rapid development of science and technology, the content of scientific research has continued to deepen and expand, and the research methods and methods have tended to be microscopic, macroscopic, and complicated. higher requirement. As a result, major developed countries in the world began to pay more attention to the construction of large scientific installations.
As a large scientific device born in China, “Dalian Light Source” is not only China’s first large-scale free electron laser scientific research user device, but also the only free electron laser device operating in the extreme ultraviolet band in the world today. Previous free electron laser devices in the extreme ultraviolet band were mostly used to study free electron lasers themselves, and were not used in other scientific fields. Today, the world’s brightest extreme ultraviolet beam created by “Dalian Light Source” can be widely used in research fields such as chemistry, physics, energy, biology, materials and environment.
For example, “Dalian Light Source” can help analyze the causes of smog. The chemical substances in the atmosphere interact with water molecules to form molecular clusters. It is these clusters that adsorb various polluting molecules in the atmosphere during the growth process, grow into larger aerosol particles, and gradually become haze. Using the “Dalian Light Source” extreme ultraviolet soft ionization technology, through the development of high-sensitivity single particle aerosol mass spectrometry and nucleation mechanism research equipment, to analyze the fine structure of clusters in atmospheric chemistry, you can fundamentally clarify the formation mechanism of haze. Provide a scientific basis for the prevention and control of atmospheric pollution.
For another example, the rapid development of semiconductor chip technology mainly relies on green laser pointer lithography technology, and high-intensity short-wavelength light sources are the key to promoting the development of semiconductor devices to smaller sizes. “Dalian Light Source” can provide an extreme ultraviolet light source with a minimum wavelength of 50 nanometers, which can be used for basic research on the next-generation EUV lithography technology.