STFC Daresbury CLARA/FEBE user facility
Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)Warrington
CLARA at STFC Daresbury Laboratory hosted friendly-user experiments at 250 MeV between January and April 2026, according to ASTeC’s 18 June report. Most work took place in the separately shielded FEBE user area. This guide retains that demonstrated research context and individually qualified published parameters. Current beamtime and access conditions require confirmation, and the laser commissioning forecast is not treated as verified completion.
Reviewed by Arc · About this review
Key facts
- Daresbury facility and general campus address
- CLARA is the STFC Compact Linear Accelerator for Research and Applications at Daresbury Laboratory. ASTeC’s general campus address is Daresbury Laboratory, Sci-Tech Daresbury, Keckwick Lane, Warrington WA4 4AD, United Kingdom. This is not a verified exact FEBE chamber or delivery address.
- Completed friendly-user research run
- The 18 June 2026 report describes five experiments between January and April 2026, covering advanced beam diagnostics, novel acceleration and very high energy electron research for cancer therapy. Most experiments used the new separately shielded Full Energy Beam Exploitation user area.
- Source-dated access and commissioning context
- The June report planned further friendly-user work later in 2026 and said laser transport installation was continuing, with commissioning expected by autumn. The December 2024 user meeting discussed an expected future beamtime call. Neither establishes a current open call, beamtime guarantee or completed laser commissioning on this review date.
Testing capabilities
Friendly-user electron-beam experiments
ASTeC reports completed 2026 friendly-user experiments in advanced beam diagnostics, novel acceleration techniques and very high energy electrons for cancer-therapy research, mostly in FEBE. This supports a qualified accelerator research capability. It does not establish a general hardware qualification, radiation-effects or optical-device testing service. Agree the current programme, beam conditions, experimental arrangement, reporting and access with ASTeC.
Equipment and published limits
| Specification | Published value | Conditions |
|---|---|---|
| Reported run energy | 250 MeV | The 18 June 2026 report says the January to April friendly-user run operated at CLARA’s design energy. This does not guarantee current beamtime, every experimental configuration or simultaneous operation with the other reported extrema. |
| Reported bunch charge | Up to 250 pC per bunch | Reported across the January to April 2026 studies in the June article. It is an individual experimental requirement, not a guaranteed simultaneous maximum with the stated rate and minimum bunch duration. |
| Reported repetition rate | Up to 100 Hz | Reported across the first 2026 friendly-user experiments. Confirm the rate for the proposed configuration. The source does not establish simultaneous delivery at every stated charge, duration and energy. |
| Reported bunch duration | As short as 5 fs | Source-dated June 2026 statement about the completed studies. It is not a universal duration, operating range or guaranteed simultaneous condition with the other reported figures. |
| FEBE vacuum chambers shown in the report | Two shown, described as roughly 2 m³ chambers | The June photo caption identifies two of the large vacuum chambers configurable for experiments. This is a caption-based description, not a complete facility inventory, exact internal dimensions or a guaranteed available chamber volume. |
| Laser installation and commissioning report | 120 TW, June 2026 status | The 18 June report says the high-power laser had recently been installed above FEBE, with final transport elements still being installed and commissioning expected by autumn 2026. No checked source verifies commissioning completion or current combined electron-laser access on 1 October 2026. |
Access and contact
Use ASTeC’s general enquiry form or campus telephone +44 1925 603000 to ask about CLARA/FEBE. Access remains conditional on the current programme and agreed beamtime. Confirm eligibility, experiment proposal, beam and chamber configuration, laser status, preparation, reporting and dates. The published campus address is not a verified exact chamber delivery address. The December 2024 meeting administration email and registration interface are historical event context.
Facility contact
- Address
- Daresbury Laboratory, Sci-Tech Daresbury, Keckwick Lane
Warrington, WA4 4AD
United Kingdom - Telephone
- +44 1925 603000
- Website
- Official test house website
Standards and accreditation
Public information not available. Contact test facility provider for more information.
What to confirm with the facility
- Agree the proposed experiment and current access programme. Completed friendly-user research and future plans do not guarantee an open call, eligibility, beamtime or a general qualification-testing service.
- Confirm each required beam condition separately. The June report’s energy, charge, repetition rate and shortest bunch duration are not a simultaneous operating guarantee. Its photo caption does not establish exact chamber dimensions or a complete inventory.
- Ask ASTeC for the present laser status and any combined electron-laser arrangements. The June installation statement and autumn commissioning forecast are source-dated, without verified completion on 1 October 2026. Agree the exact experimental and delivery location rather than assuming the general campus address.
- Provide the scientific objective, experimental hardware and samples, dimensions and interfaces, required beam conditions, measurement and reporting needs, preparation and dates. Agree proposal, safety review, setup, delivery, programme and costs with the provider.
Before requesting a test
Public information not available. Contact test facility provider for more information.
Frequently asked questions
Public information not available. Contact test facility provider for more information.
Related testing facilities
Public information not available. Contact test facility provider for more information.
Further reading
Public information not available. Contact test facility provider for more information.
Sources and review
Reviewed by Arc on 1 October 2026 in Europe/London using four fresh official ASTeC, STFC Technology and STFC Indico captures. ASTeC’s report published 18 June 2026 verifies the January to April friendly-user run at design energy 250 MeV, mostly in FEBE, and the three stated research domains. One qualified research capability and six individually source-dated specification entries are retained. Charge up to 250 pC, repetition rate up to 100 Hz and bunch duration as short as 5 fs are reported across studies without simultaneous maxima or current availability guarantees. The photo caption identifies two of the roughly 2 m³ chambers, without complete inventory or exact-dimension inference. The 120 TW laser remains source-dated installation and commissioning context. Its expected autumn completion is not assumed achieved on the review date. The July 2025 milestone report and December 2024 user meeting remain historical, including their future plans and event administration route. General ASTeC phone, form and Daresbury campus address are supported, with exact FEBE delivery address and current beamtime conditions unverified. No general hardware qualification, radiation-effects or optical-device testing service is inferred. Standards and accreditation remain unverified. Original bodies, headers, titles, canonicals or their absence, all HTML and JSON-LD metadata, publication and modification dates, visible event times, experiment periods and commissioning forecasts are preserved separately from actual review and retrieval. Complete directory overrides clear inherited coordinates.
Arc publishes this directory entry and does not operate the test facility. Suggest a correction to Arc with a supporting source.
CLARA Successfully Completes First Friendly User Experiments at 250 MeV - STFC ASTeC
Published 18 June 2026 report describes January to April friendly-user experiments at 250 MeV, selected research domains, separately reported charge, rate and bunch duration, and the FEBE photo caption. Laser transport installation and expected autumn commissioning are source-dated forecasts, not verified completion on the review date.
UK accelerator reaches 250 million electron volts milestone - STFC Technology
Visible 18 July 2025 report identifies STFC and Daresbury CLARA, achieved 250 MeV and future user plans. Its original 5 May 2026 modification metadata does not replace the visible 2025 publication or turn its plans into current access guarantees. Accelerator component counts are not needed for this guide.
Fourth CLARA User Meeting (3 December 2024): Overview · STFC Indico
Fourth CLARA User Meeting on 3 December 2024 describes commissioning and a future expected beamtime call. Event dates, meeting administration email and lecture-theatre address are historical event context, not current access, exact FEBE delivery address or a present named-contact role.
Contact ASTeC | Accelerator Science & Facilities
ASTeC publishes a general enquiry form and Daresbury Laboratory, Sci-Tech Daresbury, Keckwick Lane, Warrington WA4 4AD, with +44 (0)1925 603000. This is general campus and facility-enquiry context, without exact FEBE chamber delivery or beamtime availability.