ALBA is a third-generation Synchrotron Light facility located in Cerdanyola del Vallès, (Barcelona), managed by the CELLSConsortium. Belongs to one of the Singular Technical-Scientific Facilities (ICTS) that owns Spain
It is a complex of electron accelerators to produce synchrotron light, which allows the visualization of the atomic structure of matter as well as the study of its properties.
Currently, ALBA has eight operative and state-of-the-art phase I light lines, comprising soft and hard X-rays, which are mainly dedicated to biosciences, condensed matter (magnetic and electronic properties, nanoscience) and science of the materials.
ALBA is a third generation synchrotron light source comparable to the last built in Europe. The accelerator complex consists of a linear accelerator, which is used to accelerate electrons up to 100 MeV; a propellant synchrotron, where the electrons are accelerated to 3.0 GeV; and an electron storage ring from which the synchrotron light is emitted to the different experimental stations. With a total capacity of 31 ports for the extraction of synchrotron light, ALBA currently has seven experimental stations (or light lines) that include both soft X-rays and hard X-rays. These lines of light have applications in areas such as life sciences, condensed matter physics (nanoscience and magnetic and electronic properties), chemistry and materials science.
In 2014, it initiated the construction of two new lines of light that will be dedicated to the infrared spectroscopy and to the fotoemisión with angular resolution and will be operative in 2017 and 2019 respectively.
This large scientific infrastructure provides more than 6,000 hours of light per year and is available to the academic and industrial sectors, serving more than 1,000 researchers each year.
