The Saskatchewan Accelerator Laboratory (SAL) was a linear accelerator facility on the University of Saskatchewan campus in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. The facility was constructed in 1961 at a cost of $1.7M under the direction of Leon Katz. [1] SAL was identified by the OECD as a National Large-Scale Facility. [2] SAL provided support for radiology, chemistry and sub-atomic physics research.
In the 1980s a pulse stretcher ring called EROS was added to the facility. EROS operated at a maximum energy of 296 MeV, with the experimental equipment including a tagged photons, two 4x detectors and a spectrometer. [3] The ring was a low cost enhancement to the facility as it was suspended from the ceiling [4]
In 1997 Western Economic Diversification Canada provided funding to phase out the SAL sub-atomic physics program and begin detailed engineering of the Canadian Light Source (CLS). SAL officially discontinued operation in 1999 and was replaced by the CLS. The EROS ring was dismantled to make way for the CLS. The end-point tagger was transferred to MAX-lab at Lund University. The accelerator is still used as an injector for the CLS.
Funding for SAL was obtained based on earlier success in 1948, with Canada's first betatron (25 MeV) was constructed in the Physics Building. This was the world's first betatron used in the treatment of cancer [5]. Based on this work, in 1951 the world's first non-commercial cobalt-60 therapy unit for the treatment of cancer was constructed on campus. Based on the success of these programs, the physics department was able to obtain funding for the construction of a new linear accelerator at a cost of $1.7M [6].
Though SAL has been discontinued as a standalone facility, this research program lead to the creation of the CLS and the Plasma Physics Laboratory. The CLS makes use of the original SAL building and facilities.