Tsai inaugurates Taiwan Photon Source facility in Hsinchu

2016/09/21

President Tsai Ing-wen inaugurated Taiwan Photon Source experimental facility, home to one of the brightest synchrotron X-ray sources in the world, Sept. 19 at National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center in northern Taiwan’s Hsinchu City.

This is an exciting moment, Tsai said. The homegrown facility is unique and the pride of Taiwan, offering academic and scientific communities the chance to conduct cutting-edge R&D and help transform Taiwan into a leading creator of new technologies and business opportunities, she added.

Backed by the Ministry of Science and Technology, the multidisciplinary facility is the largest of its kind in Taiwan and illustrates the nation’s capabilities in high-tech R&D and producing large-scale industrial precision systems. It boasts extensive applications across such fields as cancer drug studies, virus research and green energy development. At the heart of the 2014-completed facility is a 3 gigaelectron-volt electron beam, which is 100,000 times brighter than Taiwan Light Source—the country’s first synchrotron accelerator that went on line in 1993.

According to the president, the facility is certain to sow the seeds for the next generation of Taiwan researchers while inspiring them to scale new heights in scientific achievement. Foreign talent will also be attracted to Taiwan to work with their local counterparts in what will soon be recognized as an international hub of R&D excellence, she said.

Echoing Tsai’s remarks, NSRRC Director Gwo Shang-jr said the facility can also be used to support Taiwan’s advanced manufacturing sector through optimizing research and production processes. “For example, the synchrotron light facilitates more sophisticated analysis of the materials and structures involved in making chips for semiconductors.”

Synchrotron X-ray sources are an important research tool in fields such as biology, chemistry, electronics and mechanical engineering. Over 70 synchrotron facilities are in existence worldwide, according to the NSRRC.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=248045&ctNode=2194&mp=9)