MEDIA

ALBA NEWS #41, OCT 2016

News: The focus of the main issue is the ALBA Control System. The report Science and society, by the user Adriana Rojas from the CIC bioGUNE, explains how they have solved the enzymatic reaction of MATα2, key for regulating cancer cell growth. 

Events: Industrial workshop. MEDSI and IBIC conferences hosted by ALBA. ALBA Open Day 2016. 

Technological developments and achivements: Friendly users at MIRAS beamline. CLEAR available at CLAESS.

Science highlights: Absence of magnetic proximity effects in magnetoresistive Pt/CoFe2O4 hybrid interfaces. Surprisingly high-temperature ferromagnetism in a GdAg2 single-layer surface alloy. The hidden magnetism in high-temperature superconductors. Description of a powerful drug to advance the fight against familial amyloidosis. Imaging intracellular calcium accumulation in calcifying marine algae using cryo-X-ray tomography. Artax Biopharma is using XALOC beamline for drug design.

ALBA NEWS #40, DEC 2015

News: This issue includes a special report from Jens Biegert, from the Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO), which explores the attosecond time dynamics of matter with soft X-rays in collaboration with the ALBA Synchrotron. 

Events: VII AUSE Congress and II ALBA User's Meeting. Industrial workshop for pharmaceutical companies. ALBA Open Day 2015. European Researchers' Night. ALBA staff picture contest for the IYL2015. 

Technological developments and achivements: Status of MIRAS beamline. Viability of calcium rechargeable batteries demonstrated.

Science highlights: New method for fabricating high-quality ultrathin cobalt ferrite nanostructures. Artificial methane hydrates. Crystal Structure and Receptor Binding of a Siadenovirus Fibre. Sulfur K-edge absorption spectroscopy at CLÆSS: transmission vs fluorescence vs total electron yield modes. Visualizing discharge products in lithium-oxygen batteries using soft X-rays spectro-microscopy.

ALBA NEWS #39, APR 2015

News: Main issue is devoted to MIRAS, the new infrared microspectroscopy beamline, with reports by Gary Ellis and Igors Sics that perfectly describe the technique and its research possibilities as well as its current status at ALBA. 

Events: 2015: International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies. Specialization course on Pair Distribution Analysis. 

Technological developments and achivements: Measurement of SESAME magnets. High power RF lab is operational. Industry collaborations with Henkel and Alibava. New viewport design.

Science highlights: Using X-rays to defeat the HIV. Visualizing the DNA double-strand break process for the first time. First user PDF experiment on Li-ion battery cathode materials at MSPD. Polymorphic study of alimentary triacyglycerols by SAXS/WAXS simultaneous measurements: from pure components to end food products. Surface magnetic moment of magnetite. Soft X-ray magnetic circular dichroism study of ferromagnetic SrRuO3.

ALBA NEWS #38, DEC 2014

News: Main issue is devoted to the construction of phase-II beamlines including a complete report by Enrique García Michel who describes the characteristics and capabilities of ARPES technique and an interview to Josep Nicolas about the project management of phase-II beamlines.

Events: Industrial workshop. Course on EXAFS and XANES. Biostruct-X meeting. ALBA Open Day 2014. European Researchers' Night.

Science highlights: Three-dimensional architecture of Hepatitis C virus replication factory studied by soft X-ray cryo-tomography. Researchers prove the effectiveness of a new drug against malaria using synchrotron light. Scientists analyse the behaviour of rare-earth orthovanadates under high pressure. Multiscale structural characterisation of yarn-line CNT fibres by synchrotron X-ray diffraction. Remote plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (rPECVD) of graphene on various substrates. Shedding light onto the mechanisms underlying the in-plane current induced magnetization reversal of magnetic tunnel junctions. Expanding magnetic imaging techniques at the CIRCE XPEEM. The many electronic facets of praseodymium-based cobaltites.

ALBA NEWS #37, FEB 2014

News: ALBA strategic plan for 2013-2016. Results of 2014 Call for Proposals. Call for Phase-III beamline proposals. Spanish synchrotron user survey.

Events: Bilateral workshop between ALBA and SSRF, ALBA Synchrotron. New instrumentation for Nanoscience and Molecular Materials Characterization. ALBA Open day 2013. Synchrotron applications for chemical and material companies.

Science highlights: Shedding light to historical glaze decorations. Bacteria Trans-infect T lymphocytes through the Immunological Synapse. Scientists unveil a molecular mechanism that controls plant growth and development. First PhD thesis with experimental data from XALOC. Understanding the reactivity of biological molecules when in contact with metal surfaces. Imaging electric field induced magnetic switching in PEEM. Valence Band Circular Dichroism from single Ru(0001) terraces. First publication with data collected at the NCD beamline. Researchers from ITQ (UPV-CSIC) elucidate the structure of a new microporous zeolite. The new ICP-ITQ-ICIQ-ALBA Capillary flow cell performed its first experiment. First publication with data measured at the CLAESS beamline. First PhD thesis with results measured at BOREAS.

ALBA NEWS #36, OCT 2013

News: First ALBA User Meeting. Spanish experts on accelerators meet at ALBA. ALBA hosted the PaNdata meeting. The mayor of Barcelona visits ALBA. John R. Helliwell, ALBA SAC Chair, awarded with the 2014 ACA Patterson Prize. Joan Casas, new Head of the Engineering division. ALBA works on the implementation of the Top-up mode injection. Collaboration between ALBA Synchrotron and Henkel, a multinational company.

Events: Training course for secondary school teachers. Workshop of synchrotron light applications in nanoscience and characterization of molecular material. ALBA Open Day 2013. ALBA - Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility Bilateral Workshop.

Science highlights: First atomic-resolution protein structures solved at ALBA. 60 nm diameter magnetic bubbles imaged at MISTRAL. Understanding magnetic cobalt nanostructures. Pump-probe powder diffraction with a time resolution of 50µs at ALBA. Magnetic nanocrystals in GaN semiconductor measured at Circe. “In situ” magnesium hydration. Inaugural commissioning by users of the Near Ambient Pressure Photoemission (NAPP) end station.

ALBA NEWS #35, APR 2013

BL04-MSPD: innovative “in situ” time resolved experiments measured on the Powder Diffraction station. BL09-MISTRAL: X-ray cryo-tomography performed on HeLa cells. BL13-XALOC: the first paper to be published using diffraction data collected at the beamline. BL22-CLAESS: first official experiments to be carried out at the beamline. BL24-CIRCE: the first spectrum to be measured at the Near Ambient Pressure Photoemission station electron energy analyzer. BL29-BOREAS: An oxygen K-edge spectrum collected in the total florescence yield and total electron yield configuration on a ZnO semi-conductor sample at room temperature.

ALBA NEWS #34, MAR 2013

The first user group of the multicrystal analyzer detector (Mad26) has performed an experiment in BL04-MSPD. First soft X-ray cryo tomographies measured at BL09-MISTRAL. The multi-national Henkel has signed an agreement for R&D co-operation with BL11-NCD. Regular user operation is progressing well at BL13-XALOC. Fast full EXAFS spectra have been obtained during the reduction process of a copper catalyst at BL22-CLÆSS. Magnetic (XMCD) imaging with a lateral resolution of 20 nm was achieved in the PEEM station at the CIRCE beamline. MCD spectra have been measured at different temperatures from a ferromagnetic bulk Co-oxide sample under an applied field of 5 Tesla in the HECTOR cryomagnet of BL29-BOREAS.

ALBA NEWS #33 - JAN 2013

First ALBA Open Day. ALBA signs The European Charter for Researchers and The Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers. ALBA joins the CLIC Study Leader multilateral collaboration. ALBA signs a Framework Collaboration Agreement with the CERN in the field of particle accelerators development. BL04-MSPD: Mad26 detector commissioning, in-house pressure calibration system installed. BL09-MISTRAL: first friendly users. BL11-NCD: how to retrieve your data. BL13-XALOC: 1593 crystals tested and collected 712 diffraction datasets, first entries at the Protein Data Bank (PDB). BL22-CLÆSS: three groups of catalysis researchers were recently hosted at ALBA, the main instrumentation is ready for routine operation. BL24-CIRICE: leak in the vacuum guard of the monochromator water cooling system repaired, upgrade installed to the differentially pumped photon beam entrance of the NAPP end station, retarding lens power supply of the PEEM microscope fixed.