The Synchrotron Light Research Institute (SLRI), in Nakhon Ratchasima in north-eastern Thailand, runs South-East Asia’s first synchrotron — the 1.2 GeV Siam Photon Source — and serves a fast-growing community of researchers across the region.
SLRI is a public organisation funded by the Thai government and located about 250 km from Bangkok. Its storage ring, the Siam Photon Source (SPS), has operated since 2003. The accelerator has an unusual history: it began life in Japan, built by the SORTEC corporation for lithography research, before being donated to Thailand in 1996 and rebuilt for 1.2 GeV operation with a double-bend achromat lattice. Insertion devices — including an undulator, a superconducting wavelength shifter and a multipole wiggler — extend its photon range.
At a glanceFacility profile
- Location
- Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand
- Operator
- Synchrotron Light Research Institute (SLRI), a Thai public organisation
- Type
- Synchrotron light source (Siam Photon Source)
- Energy
- 1.2 GeV
- Beam current
- Typically around 150 mA
- Beamlines
- 10 in operation
- First operations
- 2003
- Website
- slri.or.th
The scienceWhat researchers do here
SLRI supports research with a strong applied flavour, reflecting the needs of Thai and regional science and industry. Its beamlines are used for X-ray absorption spectroscopy of catalysts and environmental samples, infrared microspectroscopy of biological tissues, protein crystallography, and the analysis of foods, ceramics and cultural-heritage objects. Since 2003 the facility has supported more than 2,500 academic and industrial projects from Thailand, ASEAN neighbours and further afield, and it plays a major role in training the next generation of synchrotron users in the region.
A synchrotron built from a second-hand machine and a bold vision — now the scientific anchor for South-East Asia.
Towards a 4th-generation source: SPS-II
To expand its research capacity, SLRI is developing a new 3 GeV, fourth-generation light source, SPS-II. With a modern low-emittance lattice, the new ring will deliver far higher brightness and coherence than the current machine, opening advanced X-ray techniques to a wider range of fields and underpinning Thailand’s ambitions in science and high-technology industry.
Access for researchers
SLRI runs two calls for proposals each year — typically early November to mid-December for the January–June beam time, and early July to early September for the later cycle. Applications are submitted online and reviewed on merit.