The World of Precision Analysis Opened up by Coherent X-rays: Design and Application of the Korea-4GSR Coherent Beamline

The Korea-4GSR (Fourth Generation Synchrotron Radiation) project was launched in response to the growing demand for advanced synchrotron radiation experiments that exceeded the capacity of existing facilities such as PLS-II and PAL-XFEL. Designed with ultra-low emittance, high brilliance, and high coherence, Korea-4GSR provides a new generation of X-ray beams optimized for cutting-edge experiments, including nanoscale 3D imaging, strain mapping, and real-time structural analysis under in-situ and operando conditions. This article introduces three coherence-based beamlines currently under development: a hard X-ray nanoprobe beamline for high-resolution elemental and structural imaging; the CoXRD(Coherent X-ray Diffraction) beamline for Bragg coherent diffraction imaging and μ-XRD of functional and catalytic materials; and the CoSAXS beamline for dynamic studies of nanostructured soft matter using μ-SAXS and XPCS. These beamlines are specifically engineered to exploit the full potential of coherent X-rays from Korea-4GSR and are expected to become powerful platforms for advanced materials research, enabling a new era of synchrotron-based science in Korea.