Research Infrastructure: Mid-scale RI-1 (M1:IP): LaNeXT - The Laboratory for Next Generation X-ray Science and Technology

X-rays help scientists see inside materials and learn how their structure affects the way they work. This knowledge is important for developing new materials, energy technologies, medicines, and many other products. Yet some changes in materials and molecules happen so fast that they are difficult to study. The LaNeXT (Laboratory for Next Generation X-ray Science and Technology) project will build a new research facility at Louisiana State University. The facility will combine powerful lasers with X-rays to study these rapid changes. This will help researchers understand how materials change and how these changes affect materials properties and function. It will also help develop technologies for smaller and more energy-efficient X-ray facilities in the future. Students and early-career researchers will receive hands-on training through a partnership among Louisiana State University, the University of Texas at Austin, Southern University and A&M College, and Xavier University of Louisiana. The project will advance science, train the future scientific workforce, and strengthen U.S. leadership in research and technology. LaNeXT will combine a high-power ultrafast laser with the existing Louisiana State University synchrotron. This will create complementary sources of radiation for time-resolved experiments. A laser-plasma accelerator will generate relativistic electrons that produce ultrashort X-ray pulses using a high-energy photon source and Betatron radiation. High-harmonic generation will provide ultrafast extreme-ultraviolet radiation. These laser-driven sources will be integrated with a multipurpose pump-probe X-ray end station and an extreme-ultraviolet synchrotron beamline. The facility will enable measurements as fast as approximately 30 femtoseconds. This will allow researchers to connect ultrafast molecular and electronic changes to the structural evolution of materials. The laser-plasma accelerator and electron-beam diagnostics will provide a research platform for developing laser-plasma-based electron injection for future synchrotron light sources. The project will combine ultrafast laser-driven sources, synchrotron radiation, instrumentation, and sample environments in one facility. This will establish LaNeXT as a world-leading site for research in chemistry, materials science, biochemistry, nanotechnology, and engineering. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.