Aerial view of the ALS (center), LBNL, Berkeley, and the Bay Area.

ALS synchrotron radiation is produced by bend magnets and undulators (the infrared beamlines use bend magnets as sources).

Nice panoramic photos of the ALS in its beautiful setting in the Berkeley hills overlooking the San Francisco Bay Area.

An overview of how an FTIR spectrometer works including some simplified math showing how the Fourier transform is a key part of it.

An overview of the Nobel prize winning Michelson-Morely experiment, which lead to a Michelson interferometer which is in use in FTIR today.

Equations used in optical spectroscopy including index of refraction, conductivity, dielectric function, Kramers-Kronig, reflectivity and transmission.

A description of how infrared spectroscopy measures atomic vibrations in molecules and some simple examples.

A summary of William Herschel's discovery of Infrared Light in 1800.

Example infrared spectrum of a typical biological system with major absorptions identified.

The Electromagnetic (EM) Spectrum with the infrared part highlighted.  Also lists conversions for the FTIR unit of wavenumbers.

A schematic showing how synchrotron light passes through an FTIR, through an IR microscope to a sample mounted on a computer controlled stage.

We have shown that synchrotron infrared microscopy is truly non-destructive for biological samples via a series of bioassays and an in-situ beam heating test.

The electromagnetic spectrum and the so-called "THz-gap".

Example of the synchrotron advantage when studying single living cells.

Example of the synchrotron advantage from a mineral studied at high pressures.

Why a Synchrotron for an IR Source?  High Brightness.  These two slides detail a brightness comparison between a thermal IR source and the ALS synchrotron IR source.

A one-slide summary of the high brightness of synchrotron for infrared spectromicroscopy. Includes an intensity comparison with a conventional source, high-brightness uses, and example of high quality spectra from a single cell and imaging a complex bacterium-mineral biogeochemical process.

Synchrotron Light Sources put out a Continuous Spectrum from the far-infrared to the hard x-ray.

Photo and brief description of Beamline 1.4.4.

Overview of the ALS synchrotron, and how synchrotron light is emitted from accelerated electrons.

An overview of the ALS 1.4.x infrared beamlines.  Includes a cartoon of the beamline, and photos and specifications of each endstation FTIR spectrometer and microscope.

Photo of the Advanced Light Source with a rainbow in the background.  ALS and LBNL logos on a teal background are also included.

Beamclock: Diagram overview of all beamlines at the ALS, updated December 2007.