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Lightfall: An API-first, LLM-addressable control platform for synchrotron beamlines
Authors:
Ronald J. Pandolfi,
Damian Guenzing,
Marcus M. Noack,
Sophie A. Morley,
Damon English
Abstract:
Synchrotron beamlines differ in hardware, technique, and workflow, making customized control interfaces necessary; bespoke per-beamline graphical user interfaces (GUIs) do not scale well, one-size-fits-all facility software forces compromises that leave most of the interface unused, and even recent component-library approaches keep per-scientist tweaks on a developer's queue. We present Lightfall,…
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Synchrotron beamlines differ in hardware, technique, and workflow, making customized control interfaces necessary; bespoke per-beamline graphical user interfaces (GUIs) do not scale well, one-size-fits-all facility software forces compromises that leave most of the interface unused, and even recent component-library approaches keep per-scientist tweaks on a developer's queue. We present Lightfall, a control platform designed for facility-wide use, whose API-first architecture exposes every panel, device, and scan plan through a single uniform addressable interface. An embedded language-model agent drives experiments through that interface, from a single move-and-read to a Gaussian-process-driven autonomous scan, while beamline staff extend the interface during operation via skills: plugin modules the agent invokes to compose and modify panels in the running application. The result is a closed development loop: a beamline scientist authors a panel change in natural language, the agent emits and applies it, and the commit lands in the beamline's plugin repository as a side effect. The per-iteration cost of a scientist-driven change is then fixed in the scientist's own time rather than in developer hours the facility must supply. Lightfall is in testing at the COSMIC-Scattering beamline at the Advanced Light Source.
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Submitted 4 June, 2026;
originally announced June 2026.
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Soft X-ray Reflection Ptychography
Authors:
Damian Guenzing,
Dayne Y. Sasaki,
Alexander S. Ditter,
Abraham L. Levitan,
Eric M. Gullikson,
Scott Dhuey,
Arian Gashi,
Hendrik Ohldag,
Sujoy Roy,
David A. Shapiro,
Riccardo Comin,
Sophie A. Morley
Abstract:
Scanning transmission X-ray microscopy and ptychography have become mature tools for high-resolution, element-specific imaging of nanoscale structures. However, transmission geometries impose stringent constraints on sample thickness and preparation, thereby limiting investigations of extended or bulk specimens, especially in the soft X-ray region. Here, we demonstrate reflection geometry soft X-r…
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Scanning transmission X-ray microscopy and ptychography have become mature tools for high-resolution, element-specific imaging of nanoscale structures. However, transmission geometries impose stringent constraints on sample thickness and preparation, thereby limiting investigations of extended or bulk specimens, especially in the soft X-ray region. Here, we demonstrate reflection geometry soft X-ray ptychography as a robust imaging mode. Instrumental feasibility and spatial resolution are established using a lithographically defined Siemens star and barcode test pattern on a multilayer substrate. We empirically demonstrate a full-pitch spatial resolution of ca. 45 nm from Fourier ring correlation analysis of the reconstructed object. The results highlight the potential of the reflection geometry for nondestructive X-ray studies of materials without the need for transmissive samples.
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Submitted 28 January, 2026;
originally announced January 2026.
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Antiferromagnetic real-space configuration probed by dichroism in scattered x-ray beams with orbital angular momentum
Authors:
Margaret R. McCarter,
Ahmad I. U. Saleheen,
Arnab Singh,
Ryan Tumbleson,
Justin S. Woods,
Anton S. Tremsin,
Andreas Scholl,
Lance E. De Long,
J. Todd Hastings,
Sophie A. Morley,
Sujoy Roy
Abstract:
X-ray beams with orbital angular momentum (OAM) are a promising tool for x-ray characterization techniques. Beams with OAM have a helicity--an azimuthally varying phase--which leads to a gradient of the light field. New material properties can be probed by utilizing the helicity of an OAM beam. Here, we demonstrate a novel dichroic effect in resonant diffraction from an artificial antiferromagnet…
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X-ray beams with orbital angular momentum (OAM) are a promising tool for x-ray characterization techniques. Beams with OAM have a helicity--an azimuthally varying phase--which leads to a gradient of the light field. New material properties can be probed by utilizing the helicity of an OAM beam. Here, we demonstrate a novel dichroic effect in resonant diffraction from an artificial antiferromagnet with a topological defect. We found that the scattered OAM beam has circular dichroism at the antiferromagnetic Bragg peak whose sign is coupled to its helicity, which reveals the real-space configuration of the antiferromagnetic ground state. Thermal cycling of the artificial antiferromagnet can change the ground state, as indicated by reversal of the sign of circular dichroism. This result is one of the first demonstrations of a soft x-ray spectroscopy characterization technique utilizing the OAM of x-rays. This helicity-dependent circular dichroism exemplifies the potential to utilize OAM beams to probe matter in a way that is inaccessible using currently available x-ray techniques.
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Submitted 12 June, 2023; v1 submitted 6 May, 2022;
originally announced May 2022.
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Production and Integration of the ATLAS Insertable B-Layer
Authors:
B. Abbott,
J. Albert,
F. Alberti,
M. Alex,
G. Alimonti,
S. Alkire,
P. Allport,
S. Altenheiner,
L. Ancu,
E. Anderssen,
A. Andreani,
A. Andreazza,
B. Axen,
J. Arguin,
M. Backhaus,
G. Balbi,
J. Ballansat,
M. Barbero,
G. Barbier,
A. Bassalat,
R. Bates,
P. Baudin,
M. Battaglia,
T. Beau,
R. Beccherle
, et al. (352 additional authors not shown)
Abstract:
During the shutdown of the CERN Large Hadron Collider in 2013-2014, an additional pixel layer was installed between the existing Pixel detector of the ATLAS experiment and a new, smaller radius beam pipe. The motivation for this new pixel layer, the Insertable B-Layer (IBL), was to maintain or improve the robustness and performance of the ATLAS tracking system, given the higher instantaneous and i…
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During the shutdown of the CERN Large Hadron Collider in 2013-2014, an additional pixel layer was installed between the existing Pixel detector of the ATLAS experiment and a new, smaller radius beam pipe. The motivation for this new pixel layer, the Insertable B-Layer (IBL), was to maintain or improve the robustness and performance of the ATLAS tracking system, given the higher instantaneous and integrated luminosities realised following the shutdown. Because of the extreme radiation and collision rate environment, several new radiation-tolerant sensor and electronic technologies were utilised for this layer. This paper reports on the IBL construction and integration prior to its operation in the ATLAS detector.
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Submitted 6 June, 2018; v1 submitted 2 March, 2018;
originally announced March 2018.