Konstantin Sukharnikov Scientific instrumentation

A hobby. An independent overview compiled from public sources by a science and space enthusiast. I am not involved in these missions or facilities; my own work is detector electronics at European XFEL. My projects →

Facility · Synchrotrons

Diamond Light Source / Diamond-II

3 GeV storage ring, to become Diamond-II (3.5 GeV, M-H6BA lattice, emittance 162 pm·rad)

Status
Operating
Location
Harwell (Oxfordshire), United Kingdom
Operator
Diamond Light Source Ltd
Next
Dec 2027 Diamond-II "dark period" begins (until 2029-06)

Summary

The UK's national synchrotron. Diamond-II: energy from 3.0 to 3.5 GeV, natural emittance from 2,729 to 162 pm·rad, with a modified hybrid six-bend achromat lattice (M-H6BA); the project was approved in July 2023 (R. Fielder, Diamond Update, ESLS 2025).

Now as of 9 Nov 2026

According to Diamond's slides (ESLS, 30 October 2025): the dark period begins in December 2027; commissioning of the ring with beam follows in December 2028; the dark period ends in June 2029; the first phase of beamlines is in operation in September 2029; and the project is completed in March 2030. So far, delays are absorbed by contingency in the schedule, with readiness reviews every six months since December 2025 (ESLS 2025). The Diamond Extension Building opened in 2026 (Diamond News). The schedule here is taken from those conference slides; see also the Diamond-II page.

Key dates

  1. Jul 2023Diamond-II project approveddone
  2. Dec 2027Dark period beginsplanned
  3. Dec 2028Ring commissioning with beamplanned
  4. Jun 2029Dark period endsplanned
  5. Sep 2029First phase of beamlines in operationplanned
  6. Mar 2030Project completedplanned

Timeline

  1. 30 Oct 2025Diamond-II schedule presented at ESLS 2025 — slides