Spun-out of Stanford and based on research performed at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and the University, Lyncean Technologies Inc design and manufacture a new generation of compact X-ray sources - miniature synchrotron light sources. These powerful, room-sized X-ray sources will enable scientists in academics and industry to pursue state-of-the-art synchrotron radiation applications in their own laboratories. Lyncean's first product, the Compact Light Source, will deliver a monochromatic pencil beam of tunable hard X-rays comparable in quality and flux to some of the most productive synchrotron beamlines in use today. The X-ray beam energy can be tuned from a few keV up to 35 keV. The firms was formed to develop a compact synchrotron light source based on Compton scattering of a laser beam. Lyncean refers to the eye of the lynx, historically used as a metaphor for acute and penetrating vision. The name is apt; Lyncean intends to develop and market a tabletop light source, which has imaging capabilities comparable to a modern synchrotron light source. This represents an effective scale reduction of 200:1 over existing synchrotron light sources. The Compact Light Source (CLS) builds on the SLAC and SSRL experience with large synchrotrons. Existing synchrotron light sources at U.S. facilities employ multi-GeV electron beams stored in large rings of magnets to generate intense, bright 0.1 nm wavelength radiation. The CLS uses a marriage of an electron beam and laser beam to accomplish the same effect. The shift from the periodic magnets (undulators or wigglers) of the typical synchrotron light source, to the laser beam in the CLS, allows a reduction of energy and scale by a factor of 200. The CLS is so small that it can easily fit on a typical SLAC conference table. During the past 30 years, synchrotron light sources have become the x-ray probe of choice for materials scientists, physicists, chemists, biologists and research physicians. With their high-quality, intense x-ray beams, these large research facilities have spawned a large number of new technologies spanning a broad array of applications. Rather than having to go to a facility like SSRL, miniaturization will allow researchers to use the CLS at their own site.
