The 21st (2021) Yamazaki-Teiichi Prize Winner Measurement Science and Technology
Development of a compact X-ray free-electron laser SACLA and its deployment in research applications
| Winner | ||
|---|---|---|
| Tetsuya Ishikawa
Director, RIKEN SPring-8 Center |
| Winner | ||
|---|---|---|
| Hitoshi Tanaka
Deputy Director, RIKEN SPring-8 Center |
| Winner | ||
|---|---|---|
| Makina Yabashi
Group Director, RIKEN SPring-8 Center |
Reason for award
The award winners proposed and developed an X-ray free-electron laser SACLA, which is much compact compared to the U.S. and European plans, and provided SACLA to various users in Japan and abroad for conducting research applications. These achievements contributed to the development of a broad range of scientific research, from basic science to industrial applications.
Dr. Ishikawa led the project from the conceptualization stage of SACLA and, together with Dr. Tanaka, promoted miniaturization using new technologies developed at SPring-8 and KEK so as to generate an X-ray free-electron laser with excellent stability. SACLA's development technology has been adopted for X-ray free-electron laser facilities in other countries such as Switzerland, South Korea, China, and has led to an industrial impact of tens of billions of yen. Together with Dr. Yabashi, they have developed experimental infrastructures to utilize SACLA's excellent beam characteristics (extremely short pulse width, high peak intensity), and have established novel measurement methods that acquires response characteristics while scanning the measurement sites with each irradiation pulse. As a result, they contributed to the creation of various high-impact scientific and technical knowledge, such as the "intact" determination of
the structure and functionality of the photochemical system II protein that promotes photosynthesis.
For the above reasons, Drs. Ishikawa, Tanaka, and Yabashi have been selected as the winners of the 21st Yamazaki-Teiichi Prize in the field of Measurement Science & Technology.