23–28 Aug 2026
America/Los_Angeles timezone

Force-Neutral Adjustable Phase Undulators

WEP20
26 Aug 2026, 17:00
1h
Poster Presentation Session 11: Undulators and Photon Beamline Instrumentation Wednesday Poster Session

Speaker

Nathan Burger (RadiaBeam Technologies (United States))

Description

Conventional variable gap undulators rely on mechanically complex, force intensive support systems that limit tuning speed, alignment stability, and operational reliability—challenges that are increasingly critical for next generation free electron lasers (FELs). In collaboration with Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), RadiaBeam Technologies is advancing ANL’s Force Neutral Adjustable Phase Undulator (FNAPU) concept toward FEL deployment through the development of electromagnetic optimization tools and scalable manufacturing and quality assurance workflows, including the design and fabrication of a standalone 1 meter FNAPU prototype targeted for completion by 2027.

FNAPUs incorporate a secondary array of commercially available permanent magnets that counteract magnetic forces within the primary undulator structure, creating an inherently force neutral system. This architecture enables a compact mechanical design with simplified assembly, reduced structural loads, and improved magnetic alignment precision. These features support faster tuning, enhanced stability, and improved operational safety for FEL facilities. The modular FNAPU platform also enables advanced configurations of interest to the FEL community, including crossed undulator geometries for polarization control and multi undulator matrices for flexible X ray energy coverage, positioning FNAPU technology as a promising candidate for future XFEL and synchrotron radiation sources.

Funding Agency

Department of Energy SBIR: DE-SC0024805

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Author

Nathan Burger (RadiaBeam Technologies (United States))

Co-authors

Tara Hodgetts (RadiaBeam Technologies (United States)) Christopher Hall (RadiaSoft (United States)) Jonathan Edelen (RadiaSoft (United States)) Maofei Qian (Argonne National Laboratory) Joseph Xu (Argonne National Laboratory)

Presentation materials

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