Extreme-ultraviolet to x-ray free-electron lasers (FELs) in operation for scientific applications are up to now single-user facilities. While most FELs generate around 100 photon pulses per second, FLASH at DESY can deliver almost two orders of magnitude more pulses in this time span due to its superconducting accelerator technology. This makes the facility a prime candidate to realize the next step in FELs-dividing the electron pulse trains into several FEL lines and delivering photon pulses to several users at the same time. Hence, FLASH has been extended with a second undulator line and self-amplified spontaneous emission (SASE) is demonstrated in both FELs simultaneously. FLASH can now deliver MHz pulse trains to two user experiments in parallel with individually selected photon beam characteristics. First results of the capabilities of this extension are shown with emphasis on independent variation of wavelength, repetition rate, and photon pulse length.

A record low horizontal emittance of 1 nm-rad was successfully obtained in PETRA III third generation synchrotron light source. A key system that allowed reaching such value includes 20 permanent magnet damping wigglers installed in two long straight sections. The wigglers radiate almost 1 MW at maximum current of hard X-ray radiation which issues a challenge for the design of SR absorbers and vacuum system components for the damping wiggler section. The paper describes in detail the design consideration, manufacturing and experimental performance of absorbers and vacuum system. The first experimental results of PETRA Ill damping wiggler section operation are presented. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Within the next two years the 2.3 km long storage ring PETRA will be rebuild into one of the most brilliant x-ray sources worldwide (PETRA III). The large bending radius and the use of damping wigglers allow to achieve small beam emittances and extremely brilliant x-ray beams. In this paper we describe the design and the expected performance of the vacuum system for the storage ring. It consists of standard arc sections, an experimental octant which is equipped with undulators and several straight sections that include the damping wigglers. Because of the long length of the storage ring a cost effective solution had to be found. Besides the requirement to quickly provide acceptable residual gas pressures the technical challenges of the system include the provision of high thermal stability with respect to magnets and BPM's, and the design of thin walled insertion device chambers as well as high power synchrotron radiation absorbers.