ARQUIMEA completes its participation in the European XFEL with the final delivery of high-precision equipment

• The European XFEL (X-Ray Free Electron Laser) is the most powerful X-ray source in the world, an international facility that enables scientists from around the globe to explore matter at the atomic and molecular scale.
• The Spanish technology company concludes its contribution to the world’s largest X-ray free-electron laser, strengthening collaboration between industry and the international scientific community.

Madrid, November 6. ARQUIMEA, a Spanish technology company with experience in developing complex systems for scientific facilities, has successfully completed the delivery of ultra-high precision quadrupole positioners for the European XFEL, the world’s most powerful X-ray facility, located in Schenefeld–Hamburg, Germany.

With this delivery, the company concludes a multi-year project in which it has worked closely with scientific institutions to implement high-precision equipment that is now part of the experimental infrastructure. In an earlier phase, ARQUIMEA and CIEMAT participated in the manufacturing and supply of 49 units, now joined by the 14 units delivered in this final stage.

Quadrupole positioners are high-precision systems that adjust the horizontal and vertical alignment of quadrupole magnets within the undulator line to focus the beam and fine-tune its trajectory. These systems achieve sub-micrometric repeatability within a ±1.5 mm range. Their performance allows the European XFEL to maintain the necessary beam stability, ensuring optimal conditions for highly complex scientific experiments. The manufacturing and integration of these systems required extremely high mechanical precision to meet the demanding tolerances and specifications of the design. Moreover, given their high sensitivity, all work was carried out under controlled vibration, temperature, and cleanliness conditions, including repeatability tests to validate their performance and ensure operational reliability.

The European XFEL is one of the most advanced scientific infrastructures in the world. It is an X-ray free-electron laser involving 12 European countries, operational since 2017, that enables the international scientific community to study processes and structures at the atomic and molecular scale with unprecedented accuracy. Its unique characteristics make it an essential tool for research in fields such as biology, chemistry, physics, and materials science.

ARQUIMEA’s participation in this project highlights the value of collaboration between technology industry and scientific research. The company has applied its expertise in engineering, manufacturing, integration, and validation of complex systems to meet the demanding standards of a facility of this level. This collaboration with CIEMAT is an example of how Spanish industrial experience can contribute to large-scale international scientific projects.

With the completion of this phase, the European XFEL expands its experimental capabilities, enabling the scientific community to continue exploring new frontiers of research with the highest precision and reliability.

About ARQUIMEA

ARQUIMEA is a Spanish technology company operating globally in the aerospace, defense, security, and science sectors. It collaborates with international agencies, armed forces, and leading companies and research centers, providing innovative and reliable solutions.

The company has its own research and development center with over a hundred specialists in technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, and quantum science, which it applies to the design and production of next-generation products and systems.