BioCAT is approaching the end of a nearly 3 year long, 2 million dollar optics upgrade project. This project was officially started in 2024 (though planning started earlier than that) when BioCAT received $2 million in supplementary funds from NIGMS to upgrade our x-ray optics to take full advantage of the new APS-U source and provide enhanced capabilities for users. We are now in the process of taking receipt of the new components, and have just received the final approval needed from the APS to proceed with the installation. Once completed, this will provide the beamline with smaller, more intense x-ray beams and improved beam stability. This will improve operations and data quality for all users, and let us offer significantly enhanced capabilities for microbeam work at BioCAT.
BioCAT will be operational as usual during the upcoming 2026-3 run that starts in September. We will start installing the optics in January 2027. During the installation and commissioning of these optics the beamline will not be available for users. We are doing our utmost to ensure a smooth completion of the project, but some downtime is unavoidable. We are currently planning on having no user beamtime in the 2027-1 run, roughly February-April of 2027. We plan to resume regular user operations in the 2027-2 run, which will start around June 2027.
BioCAT does still have beamtime available in the upcoming 2026-3 run, which ends at the end of December, so if you do want beamtime at BioCAT between now and next June we encourage you to contact a beamline scientist and start the process of requesting time for this run now.
This upgrade will usher in a new era of science at BioCAT, as we replace our 30 year old x-ray optics with ones that we hope will sustain the facility for the next 30 years of world class science. We look forward to continuing to collaborate with and serve you, our users, and are excited for the cutting edge new science this upgrade will make possible.