View of the Advanced Photon Source
looking northeast to Chicago
Facility
Location
CARS beamlines are located at the Advanced Photon Source (APS) within Argonne National Laboratory. Argonne is a U.S. Department of Energy facility about 30 miles from downtown Chicago, Illinois. The University of Chicago provides additional administrative offices and a small conference room on the University campus, but all experimental facilities are located at the APS.
Argonne is a controlled-access facility, and advance permission is required for entry by persons who are not citizens of the United States (see Working with Us).
The amenities of the Argonne site are available to users, including a hotel (the Argonne Guest House), restaurant, cafeteria, grill, and coffee shop. The laboratory is surrounded by a forest preserve with pleasant trails for walking and biking (9.5-mile loop and smaller trails).
Light Source
The APS is a 7-GeV, high-brilliance synchrotron light source. Details about the source parameters are available as link from the APS status page, which also provides a link to the operating schedule and operational status. Basic details of our beamline sources are available through our Resources page or the APS Beamline Directory.
The APS provides beam in three runs each calendar year, roughly January-April, May-August, and September-December. The one-month shutdowns are used for maintenance and upgrades. During a run, beam is provided around the clock, except for a one- or two-day maintenance shutdown each week.
Work Space and Services
Entrance to Building 434
At the Advanced Photon Source, CARS occupies office and laboratory space in Building 434, a laboratory office module (LOM) on the south side of the APS ring. Offices are located in three "pentagons” within this building. Experimental operations are conducted at three corresponding sectors of the APS experiment hall (sectors 13, 14, and 15). The building houses staff offices, user lounges and workspace, a conference room, a lunchroom (microwave, refrigerator, sink), and washrooms with a shower. Laboratory, machine shop, and computing facilities are also available in the LOM (see Resources), and the APS maintains a general stockroom. Many specialized services can be obtained for a fee from Argonne and the University of Chicago.