THE ESRF FROM 1988 TO 2018, 30 YEARS OF INNOVATION AND OPERATION

International audienceIn 1988, eleven European countries joined forces to build the European Synchrotron Facility in Grenoble [France]. The ESRF was the first third-generation light source worldwide. After 30 years of innovation and user operation, the present storage ring was shut down to leave room for a new and brighter source. This paper describes the evolution of the facility from its origin to the Ex-tremely Bright Source (EBS). Firstly, the operational aspects including reliability and beam modes are consid-ered. This is followed by the presentation of the progress of lattice and the implementation of top-up. Finally, the development of the radio frequency and vacuum systems are discussed. To conclude, the lessons learned from 30 years operation are summarized, especially in view of EBS