Synchrotron Mirror Design

The main facility at Daresbury Laboratory is the SRS, the UK's pioneering synchrotron light source, used for many purposes from probing the structure of proteins to investigating the properties of polymers and concrete. Here, bright light is produced by firing charged electrons into a storage ring and radiation emitted from the storage ring is tapped off along 'beamlines' to experimental stations.

The client required a mirror mechanism to be designed for the adjustment of 'beamline 11'. Assystem working in collaboration with the design department at Daresbury, designed a total of five different mirror mechanisms and supporting equipment for the SRS. The mechanisms (designed using Pro/Engineer) have provided the accuracy required by Daresbury Laboratory. Brian Todd - one of the chief engineers at Daresbury - said "we have just aligned the primary optics and have managed to get it spot on! There are no errors - it is perfectly aligned."

The image on the left shows the five different mirror mechanisms designed: Primary Optics. M1 water cooled spherical mirror. M2 vertically deflecting plane mirror
Secondary Optics. M3 plane mirror. M4 spherical mirror. M5 plane mirror