Synchrotron receiving $1M in funding for expanded equipment

Saskatoon, SK – The Canadian Light Source (CLS) is receiving $1.196 million in federal funding to acquire new equipment.

The funding, to be received through Western Economic Diversification Canada, will be used to purchase additional equipment to enable two research facilities to operate at full capacity. The acquisition of this equipment is critical to the ability of the CLS to attract and retain health researchers and industrial users from around the world.

“The Canadian Light Source is at the cutting edge of synchrotron science in a number of areas important to Canadian industry and enhancing Canadians’ quality of life,” said William Thomlinson, CLS Executive Director. “Western Economic Diversification Canada’s investment will help ensure that the facilities at Canada’s synchrotron are second to none and demonstrates the federal government’s commitment to furthering scientific and technological advancement.”

The Phase II beamline project at the Canadian Light Source consists of five facilities designed to complement and significantly expand the research toolkit at the CLS. Specifically, the funding will enable the biomedical imaging and therapy facility (BMIT) and synchrotron laboratory for micro and nano devices (SyLMAND) to operate at their intended capacity.

The funding will provide the BMIT facility with advanced imaging capabilities at the therapeutic research station. The funding also helps acquire a specialized X-ray detector that will provide the CLS with the highest quality of resolution available to any synchrotron facility in the world.

The SyLMAND facility requires a scanning electron microscope in order for researchers and industrial customers to fully utilize the beamline. The microscope will be used to align and orient masks used in nano and micro-scale structures experiments and to check the quality of the resulting structures and coatings.

The CLS is Canada’s national centre for synchrotron research, located on the campus of the University of Saskatchewan campus in Saskatoon.