Technology with purpose: Sirius particle accelerator
One of the world's most advanced particle accelerators helps Brazilian researchers develop new medicines, explore renewable energy and advance agricultural science. Our solutions help keep it running.
Innovation serving science
Most people associate particle physics with CERN in Switzerland. But Brazil is home to Sirius – one of the world's most modern particle accelerators. Named after the brightest star in the night sky, it sits at the Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM) in Campinas, São Paulo.
Sirius helps researchers tackle some of the biggest challenges in healthcare, agriculture and energy. We partner with the Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory – the team responsible for Sirius – to keep this critical infrastructure running safely and reliably.
0.5 μm Beam width
enables atomic-level material analysis.
360x Higher radiation intensity
than the previous UVX accelerator.
68K m² Facility with a 500+ m ring
providing world-class research infrastructur
How Sirius works
Synchrotron light is a type of electromagnetic radiation that makes it possible to study the composition of materials in extraordinary detail, much like a super microscope. It allows researchers to see how atoms and molecules move and interact and to analyze the internal structure of different materials.
This radiation is separated into extremely narrow beams measuring just 0.5 micrometers in width. That's equivalent to 0.5% of the thickness of a human hair. The spectrum is broad, ranging from infrared light to X-rays, including visible light and ultraviolet radiation.
How is this radiation produced? When charged particles are deflected by an external magnetic field. That's exactly what Sirius is designed to do. Electrons are accelerated around a ring-shaped structure, and every time they change direction, synchrotron light is emitted.
By using different parts of this light spectrum, researchers can conduct specialized studies across a wide range of fields. Sirius helps develop new medicines and treatments, explore renewable energy sources and advance agricultural research.
Synchrotron light is a type of electromagnetic radiation that allows the composition of materials to be studied in detail, like a super-powered microscope.
Precision at every level
The science at Sirius demands extreme precision. To prevent interference with research results, factors like temperature, humidity and vibrations must be controlled to the finest degree. Any deviation could compromise the data.
CNPEM chose us as a partner to help meet those requirements. The technologies we provide, covering electrification, automation and digitalization, are the same solutions we offer our industrial and infrastructure customers. They've been tested and proven under extremely demanding conditions.
Industrial controls - SIRIUS
With SIRIUS, we offer you a unique comprehensive portfolio for every industrial control application. The major advantages: With their modular design, our products can be planned and built into a control cabinet in a very simple way. They are especially easy to integrate into distributed systems.
What comes next
We help tackle some of society's most demanding challenges, and helping advance science in Brazil is one we're proud to be part of.