Introductory Chapter: Synchrotron Radiation-Basics and Concepts

When an electron traveling at nearly the speed of light in an orbit, emits a continuum of electromagnetic radiation tangential to the orbit, it gives you a synchrotron light which is the synchrotron radiation. The main difference is that a cyclotron accelerates the particles in a spiral since the magnetic field is constant, whereas the synchrotron adjusts the magnetic field to keep the particles in a circular orbit. There are now more than 60 synchrotrons and free electron lasers (FELs) around the world dedicated to applications in physics, engineering, pharmacology, and new materials, to name but a few. As the electrons are deflected through the magnetic field created by the magnets, they give off electromagnetic radiation, so that at each bending magnet, a beam of synchrotron light is produced. SR—synchrotron radiation—can be used in a variety of spectroscopy techniques, namely, XAFS, soft X-ray, imaging, X-ray lithography, dispersive EXAFS, scanning EXAFS, EDXRD, XRF, protein crystallography, and X-ray beam diagnostic visible beam diagnostic to name a few.