The research group led by Senior Technical Officer Kota Ueshima and Director Nobuyuki Nishimori of the Accelerator Group at the QST NanoTerasu Center has successfully achieved the early realization of stable operation at a stored current of 400 mA at NanoTerasu. This is a groundbreaking achievement that doubles the synchrotron radiation intensity compared with previous operation.

As a result, the soft X-ray synchrotron radiation supplied by NanoTerasu not only has 100 times the brightness of existing domestic facilities, but also doubles the intensity (photons per second) compared with FY2024. Consequently, the number of samples that can be analyzed using the world’s highest-performance analytical instruments will also double, greatly accelerating research and development in areas such as next-generation device development, innovative materials research, and new discoveries in the life sciences.

QST Press Release
https://www.qst.go.jp/site/press/20250905.html

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A research achievement using one of NanoTerasu’s public beamlines was featured on NHK NEWS on the morning of June 19.

The study was conducted by Associate Professor Yohei Suzuki and his research team at the University of Tokyo’s Faculty of Science. They analyzed a sample of peridotite collected from approximately 1,200 meters underground—deep enough to minimize the possibility of microbial intrusion from the surface. Using NanoTerasu’s Soft X-ray Nano-Absorption Spectroscopy Beamline, one of its three public beamlines, the team detected elemental signals characteristic of living microorganisms.

This finding suggests the possibility that microorganisms obtained from 2-billion-year-old rock formations may have survived by “breathing” iron oxide.

“Microorganisms from 2-Billion-Year-Old Rock May Have Used Iron Oxide for Respiration – University of Tokyo and Others”
Link to article (in Japanese)

Principal researcher Jun Miyawaki and his colleague at the NanoTerasu Center have developed equipment for resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) experiments at the public beamline BL02U of the NanoTerasu. They achieved a world-leading performance with an energy resolution of 16.1 meV, significantly surpassing the previous record of 22 meV. This breakthrough also improved the efficiency of the measurements.
(Press release dated September 18th)

https://www.qst.go.jp/site/press/20240918.html

The 589th research meeting of the Laser Society, titled “Next-Generation Laser Processing,” was held on September 9, 2024, in the NanoTerasu Exhibition Hall. This was the first time the research meeting was held in the NanoTerasu Exhibition Hall. With approximately 30 participants, five research presentations were delivered, followed by a tour of the experimental hall.

Presentation by Principal Researcher Dinh from QST Kansai Group

Photo of Participants at the NanoTerasu Experimental Hall

At the ’15th International Conference on Synchrotron Radiation Instrumentation (SRI 2024)’, held in Hamburg, Germany, from August 26 to August 30, 2024, Group Leader Nishimori of the NanoTerasu Center’s Accelerator Group and Principal Researcher Miyawaki of the Beamline Group, among others, gave presentations.

The Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute (JASRI), which is in charge of promoting the use of NanoTerasu, introduced NanoTerasu together with SPring-8/SACLA supported by RIKEN and QST at 15th International Conference on Synchrotron Radiation Instrumentation (SRI2024) held at Congress Center Hamburg (Hamburg, Germany) from August 26 (Mon.) to 30 (Fri.), 2024.

The Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute (JASRI), which is in charge of promoting the use of NanoTerasu, introduced NanoTerasu together with SPring-8 at the 21st IUPAB Congress 2024/IUPAB2024 held at Kyoto International Conference Center from June 24 (Mon.) to 28 (Fri.), 2024.