ELBE - List of Publications

Ultrashort pulses of intense coherent infrared and THz (4-250 µm) from two Free Electron Lasers (FEL) provide an ideal tool for studying ultrafast electronic and structural dynamics in matter. The FEL beam is directed to endstations in se­veral experimental labs, as well as to the neighboring high-field ­magnet lab (HLD), and a dedicated lab for nanoscale imaging by s-SNOM. Visit the FELBE pages for more ­information.

The TELBE facility provides intense, frequency-tunable and carrier-envelope stable THz pulses ranging from 0.1 THz to 2.5 THz, typically used for the excitation of dynamical nonlinear effects in matter. TELBE offers THz pulse energies up to 100 µJ at repetition rates from single shot to hundreds of kHz. Ultrafast THz-driven processes can be probed with femtosecond timing resolution using a variety of laser-based techniques.

Material­s research with positrons can be performed at the pELBE facilities, which consist of three subsystems for depth-dependent positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (MePS), gamma-induced positron spectroscopy (GiPS) for bulk sudies, and a conventional Doppler-broadening positron annihilation spectroscopy using β+ radiation from radio-isotope production.

Bremsstrah­lung (up to 20 MeV) is available in the nuclear physics cave. The time structure of the Bremsstrah­lung radiation is defined by the electron beam which is being operated in the micropulse mode. The pulse-to-pulse spacing (repetition rate) can be adjusted from 77 ns (13 MHz) up to 1230 ns (812.5 kHz), depending on the application.

nELBE is a neutron time-of-flight system offering pulsed neutron beams with a continuous energy distribution ranging from 100 keV to 10 MeV. Main applications are measurements of precise energy-dependent total neutron cross sections and differential neutron scattering cross sections. For the time being, the facility is not in operation (as of 12/2023).

The direct electron beam from ELBE can be used for detector tests or for irradiation. Bunches that contain only one electron, but preserve the time structure of the beam on the time scale of ps, enable detector tests with extremely high time resolution.
The variability of the pulse charges and the possibility of generating freely selectable pulse patterns provide ideal conditions for investigating dose- and dose rate-dependent effects of ionizing radiation on cell samples.
For these radiobiological irradiations, the electrons can also be extracted in air. There is a cell biology laboratory inside the accelerator building.

The electron accelerator, the injectors, the secondary beam paths, and the user experiments are undergoing constant further development. In addition to measures to reduce the o­verall energy consumption and to increase the reliability of the system componen­ts, adjustments are also made to meet the requirements of external and internal user groups and to include new measurement devices.

For basic research, detectors with ­­very high time resolution and excellent sensitivity are required. This is particularly true for the experiments HADES, CBM, and R3B at GSI and FAIR in Darmstadt, Germany. A long-standing, sustained effort has been mounted at HZDR to support these experiments by developing and testing the best detectors, especially for timing purposes. The 40 MeV ELBE electron beam offers ideal conditions for testing of such detectors.