The Australian Synchrotron, in Clayton on the southern edge of Melbourne, is Australia’s national synchrotron — a 3 GeV light source that draws thousands of researchers a year across medicine, advanced manufacturing, agriculture, environmental science and minerals.
Owned and operated by the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), the facility produces intense beams of infrared, ultraviolet and X-ray light that let scientists examine the structure and composition of matter in extraordinary detail. It is an open user facility: researchers from universities, medical institutes and industry apply for beam time and travel to Clayton to carry out experiments that would be impossible in a conventional laboratory.
At a glanceFacility profile
- Location
- Clayton, Victoria, Australia
- Operator
- Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO)
- Type
- Third-generation synchrotron
- Energy
- 3 GeV
- Beam current
- 200 mA
- Beamlines
- More than 10 in operation, with further beamlines being added
- First operations
- 2007
- Website
- ansto.gov.au
The scienceWhat researchers do here
The Australian Synchrotron supports an unusually broad mix of research. Its beamlines are used to map the atomic architecture of proteins for drug design, to image cancers and other tissues at exquisite resolution, to trace trace-elements through soils and plants, and to characterise the materials behind batteries, catalysts and new alloys. The facility also plays a major role in medical imaging and in industrial problem-solving, from aerospace components to mineral processing.
A national facility serving the region: scientists from across Australia, New Zealand and beyond apply for time, then bring their experiments to Melbourne.
A sustained programme of expansion, known as BRIGHT, has been adding new beamlines that extend the facility’s reach into areas such as high-throughput crystallography, advanced X-ray imaging and microspectroscopy — broadening the science the synchrotron can support and increasing the number of experiments it can host each year.
Access for researchers
The most common route is the merit-reviewed user proposal, with calls issued three times a year (typically closing in January, May and September). Beam time for publishable research is provided at no charge to successful applicants.