ALBA is the only synchrotron light source in Spain and one of the most recent in Europe. It is a complex of electron accelerators located in Cerdayola del Vallès (Barcelona).

At ALBA we produce about 6,000 hours of synchrotron light a year that are distributed among the research teams that carry out their experiments at the 11 beamlines (laboratories) that are under operation.

Every year ALBA receives more than 2,200 users, researchers who carry out experiments to visualize and analyse matter and its properties at the atomic and molecular level. This is based on the techniques allowed by the high intensity of synchrotron light, such as microscopy, spectroscopy or diffraction.

The ALBA Synchrotron is a public entity managed by the Consortium for the Construction, Equipment and Exploitation of the Synchrotron Light Laboratory (CELLS) and financed in equal parts by the Spanish and Catalan governments. Moreover, ALBA is a unique scientific and technical infrastructure (ICTS in Spanish) that brings added value to the scientific and industrial sectors. ALBA is a facility committed to scientific excellence and improving the well-being and progress of society as a whole.

Synchrotron light is electromagnetic radiation covering a continuum of wavelengths, ranging from infrared to hard X rays, including visible light. The main characteristic of synchrotron light is its extreme brightness (millions of times brighter than the surface of the Sun). This yields results with the most outstanding resolution. It also reduces experiment time and facilitates the study of rapid phenomena such as chemical reactions.

Experiments using synchrotron light are many and varied, offering the option of changing parameters such as wavelength, light polarization, temperature, pressure, etc.

Everything that is done at ALBA seems to be remote discoveries, but they have incredible applications in our daily lives. Here are some of the most notable achievements in a decade illuminating the unknown:

The ALBA Synchrotron consists of a linear accelerator, a booster synchrotron and a storage ring. It generates electrons which are released from a metal on heating it. They then undergo an initial acceleration in the linear accelerator. In the booster, the electrons are accelerated even more until almost reaching the speed of light. Finally, they enter the storage ring where they continue to circulate (at a speed of approximately one million turns per second).

When the electrons circulate through magnetic fields following a circular path, they spontaneously emit synchrotron light and hence lose energy, which needs to be supplied constantly by radiofrequency cavities.

ALBA is a third-generation light source; in other words, it uses sophisticated magnetic systems - insertion devices - to supply "bespoke" light of intense brightness. Now, it is planned the upgrade to the fourth-generation through the ALBA II project, which will provide a wide range of new analytical tools and innovative methodologies.

ALBA receives more than 2,200 visits from research professionals:

• Academic access: twice a year, a call for experiments is convened; the top experiments are granted free synchrotron light time in exchange for publication of their research findings.

• Industrial access: industrial users can rely on the utmost confidentiality for their research, but the costs of experiments need to be covered. For further information, contact our Industrial Office.