ALBA is a 3rd generation Synchrotron Light facility located in Cerdanyola del Vallès, (Barcelona), being the newest source in the Mediterranean area.

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.  

The 3 GeV electron beam energy at ALBA is achieved by combining a LInear ACcelerator (LINAC) and a low-emittance, full-energy BOOSTER placed in the same tunnel as the STORAGE RING. ALBA's 270 meter perimeter has 17 straight sections all of which are available for the installation of insertion devices.

ALBA currently has ten operational state-of-the-art beamlines, comprising soft and hard X-rays, which are devoted mainly to biosciences, condensed matter (magnetic and electronic properties, nanoscience) and materials science. Additionally, four beamlines are in construction (low-energy ultra-high-resolution angular photoemission for complex materials, microfocus for macromolecular crystallography, absorption and diffraction and fast X-ray tomography & radioscopy).

This large scientific infrastructure provides more than 6.000 hours of beam time per year and is available for the academic and the industrial sector, serving more than 2.000 researchers every year. Since as early as 2012, ALBA has been hosting official users, 65% from Spanish institutions and 35% from other countries.

Managed by the Consortium for the Construction, Equipping and Exploitation of the Synchrotron Light Source (CELLS), it is funded in equal parts by the Spanish and the Catalonian Administration, in particular by the Ministry of Science and Innovation and the Secretary of Universities and Research.

IM-ALBA1 ALBA's tunnel showing booster and storage ring

The aim of CELLS, as a non-profit entity, is support educational and research centers around the world in their scientific studies. ALBA takes a firm commitment to the education of the new generations, developing training activities and providing academic support (further details). Its ambitious student program offers different types of internships to gain knowledge and skills in a wide variety of scientific and technological areas. This program benefits undergraduate and master university students as well as Dual Vocational Training students. Other academic subprograms are aimed at postdoctoral and predoctoral researchers.

In addition, ALBA provides support in teaching, participating in several university degrees and master's degrees from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia or the Autonomous University of Barcelona, such us:

  • "Accelerator Physics", subject of the Degree in  Physics from the Autonomous University of Barcelona. Study guides
  • "Design of an electron accelerator", subject of the Degree in Industrial Technology Engineering (GETI) at the ETSEIB-UPC (Barcelona School of Industrial Engineering). Study guides
  • "Large Facilities", subject of the Master in Engineering Physics (MEF) at the ETSETB-UPC (Barcelona School of Telecommunications Engineering). Study guides
  • "Electron Beam Applications", subject of the Master in Innovative & Interdisciplinary Engineering (MIIE) at the EEBE-UPC (Barcelona East School of Engineering). Study guides
  • "Non-destructive Testing", subject of the Master in Nuclear Engineering (MEN) at the ETSEIB-UPC (Barcelona School of Industrial Engineering). Study guides

Other teaching activities with the participation of CELLS staff are: monographic seminars on the ALBA Synchrotron and experiments in its beamlines. guided tours at ALBA and internships for UPC students in the laboratories of the synchrotron. In the case of the UAB, the close collaboration, together with its geographical proximity, makes CELLS belong to the Esfera UAB-CEI group.

ALBA is a facility committed to scientific excellence and to improve the well-being and progress of society as a whole.
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