Arizona State University builds compact X-ray free electron laser

19 Mar 2025

Smaller and less expensive platform should assist biomedical research and renewable energy studies.

A team at Arizona State University (ASU) is constructing a novel X-ray free electron laser (XFEL) platform intended to make the technology more accessible to researchers in multiple fields.

XFEL devices employ a drive laser firing a pulse of light onto a suitable metal target, generating a burst of electrons.

These electrons are then corralled and accelerated by magnetic fields until they collide with a second laser beam and create synchronized ultra-short pulses of X-rays, potentially of higher intensities than can be produced by other laboratory sources.

The drawback, however, has been the cost and complexity of the XFEL technology. The first XFEL system cost around one billion dollars to build and requires a kilometer-long particle accelerator facility, with fewer than 10 XFEL instruments currently existing worldwide according to ASU.

The ASU team set out to develop the first compact X-ray free electron laser, or CXFEL. A dramatically smaller and less expensive garage-sized instrument would promise to expand opportunities for researchers to explore atomic-scale events in biochemistry, microelectronics, bioenergy, drug development, quantum computing and more.

"We believe this is the start of a new paradigm that will enable many institutions to follow in our footsteps, providing novel instruments for scientific breakthroughs," said William Graves, leader of the CXFEL project at ASU.

The university has received a $90.8 million five-year award from the National Science Foundation, the largest NSF research award in the university’s history, to build and complete the CXFEL.

Cancer therapy and pandemic preparation

A key aspect of the new platform is its compact X-ray light source, or CXLS, in which the electrons are made to create X-rays by meeting a powerful infrared laser beam.

This is accomplished in a collision zone 20 microns in size, according to ASU data, allowing the size of the platform's electron manipulation system, or "undulator," to be reduced by a factor of 10,000 and in turn reduce the size of the overall accelerator by 100 times.

Research applications for the finished CXFEL platform could include imaging the way in which a virus binds to a cell along with all the processes allowing it to then enter that cell, commented ASU. This knowledge could be critical for preparation against a future viral pandemic.

"Another example would be to see how a cancer cell hides from destruction by the immune system," said Petra Fromme, director of ASU's Biodesign Center for Applied Structural Discovery. "This could usher in a new wave of cancer therapies."

At present the ASU project is engaged in finalizing the commissioning of its CXLS light source, after which it will begin using it to record the structure and dynamics of complex biomolecules and quantum materials.

"This latest milestone means that key power, safety and operational parameters have already been successfully met, with the ability of the instrument to generate a stable electron beam and ultrashort X-rays to begin its first measurements for ASU and other scientists later this year," commented ASU.