European Synchrotron Radiation Facility
The European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) is an outstanding example of European scientific cooperation. With the Extremely Brilliant Source (EBS), the ESRF has unique capabilities for fundamental and applied research in a wide range of fields. Swiss researchers and industry play a key role in this.
Heavy involvement of Swiss science and industry
Researchers from over 20 Swiss institutes use the ESRF's X-ray beams for their experiments. Switzerland contributes 4% of the ESRF's annual budget, which corresponds to roughly CHF 4 million. SERI is responsible for paying Switzerland's contribution to the ESRF and represents Swiss interests within the organisation. The ESRF is complementary to the Swiss Light Source (SLS) at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI). Swiss and Norwegian researchers operate two beamlines of their own at the ESRF, separate from the public programme. These are referred to as the Swiss-Norwegian Beamlines (SNBL).
Swiss industry supplied several high-tech components and systems to the ESRF. Around 8% of ESRF contracts go to Swiss companies. This success is largely due to Swiss company excellence in X-ray detection. The Swiss ILO Office plays a pivotal role in facilitating dealings between Swiss companies and the ESRF.
A facility with unique capacities
Following installation of its ‘extremely bright source’ in 2020, at a cost of EUR 150 million, the ESRF became the world's brightest X-ray source. The ESRF is crucial for structural analyses in solid-state physics, molecular biology, materials science as well as for medical diagnostics and treatment. Each year, around 7,000 scientists use the ESRF to perform measurements on the facility's 30 beamlines. This research is essential in the development of new technologies and in gaining a better understanding of natural processes.
Success made possible by European collaboration
The members of the ESRF are Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Russia, Switzerland, Spain and the consortia BENESYNC (Belgium and the Netherlands) and NORDSYNC (Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden). Scientific collaboration agreements exist with Portugal, Israel, Austria, Poland and South Africa. The ESRF has an annual budget of around EUR 120 million. Over 650 employees work there.
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State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation SERI
Laurent Salzarulo