China's new light source device starts installation of key component

BEIJING, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- The High Energy Photon Source (HEPS), the first high-energy synchrotron radiation light source in China, on Wednesday started installation of its storage ring tunnel device.

A key part of HEPS, the storage ring is used to accelerate electrons and generate synchrotron radiation, which helps people to view the microworld.

The first pre-collimation unit of HEPS's storage ring was installed on Wednesday, marking a major step forward in the construction of the HEPS project, said Pan Weimin, chief commander of the project.

Called the "Beijing light source" in Chinese, HEPS is being constructed in Beijing's suburban Huairou District by the Institute of High Energy Physics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

HEPS is one of China's key scientific and technological infrastructure projects. It will serve as a research platform for material science, aerospace, biomedicine and other fields.

The HEPS facility is composed of several parts, including accelerators, beamlines, end stations and support facilities.