ILL20/20

The Upgrade of the Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL)

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'Founded in 1967, the Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) is an international research centre at the leading edge of neutron science and technology. As a central facility, the ILL provides access to instruments that use low-energy neutrons of unequalled quality and breadth to a community of many thousands of researchers throughout Europe and beyond. The ILL has occupied this leading position for 35 years. In order to keep the ILL at the forefront of neutron science and to provide the best possible experimental facilities and support to its European users over the next two decades, the Institute needs to modernise its infrastructure and instrument suite. This is the scope of the proposed ILL20/20 upgrade programme, which can be summarised as follows: (i) improving neutron moderators and delivery systems; (ii) planning and prototyping new instruments and neutron technologies; (iii) strengthening the links with the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), creating partnerships for science and joint scientific facilities accessible to ILL and ESRF users; (iv) developing the site shared by the ILL, the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and the ESRF. This proposal aims at optimising the preparatory phase of this ambitious programme. The preparation of the upgrade will involve: (i) a benchmarking to enable a strategic decision to be taken on whether or not the ILL should focus on cold instruments ; (ii) feasibility studies, on challenging technical projects to renew the ILL's neutron moderators and delivery facilities, and on neutron scattering technologies; (iii) preparing the framework for a Partnership for Soft Condensed Matter; (iv) planning the development of the ILL/EMBL/ESRF site, including the resolution of the administrative issues.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

An upgrade of the Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) in France includes plans for newly constructed premises and renovation of existing buildings. The site will house improved instrumentation for the neutron user community and promises to deliver the ultimate in neutron research facilities.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

The ILL in France is one of the world's most advanced centres for research based on neutrons and has served Europe since 1967 in its quest for scientific excellence. The EU-funded project 'The upgrade of the Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL)' (ILL20/20) is maintaining the centre's primacy by outlining its infrastructure needs, facilitating access and optimising its use.

Such an ambitious upgrade will bring with it many improvements including preparation of high-intensity ultra-cold neutron (UCN) beams, construction of the cryostat and ultra-cold neutron extraction. UCNs are used as a tool to determine properties of the neutron and an increasing number of industrial applications including imaging techniques.

ILL20/20 will also encourage joint science projects and enhance knowledge transfer. New science partnerships will attract new users to the centre, with a focus on soft matter, extreme sample conditions and materials science.

By 2014, the project plans to develop new world-class concepts for neutron guide systems, neutron scattering instruments, white beam analysis, bunching of neutron beams and gas detection. Technical achievements will include development of high-density ultra-cold neutron source prototypes and an enhanced crystal monochromator.

As regards hot neutron technology, the scientists focused on the improvement of optical components made from single diamond crystals. ILL(20/20) successfully produced sufficiently thick diamond crystals to show that a composite diamond crystal will increase the flux sufficiently for hot neutron instrumentation.

The new equipment, infrastructure and protocols being established by the project will help ensure that the centre is one of the most important neutron science facilities worldwide. This represents an important step in advancing the European Research Area (ERA) so scientists can engage in new areas of discovery to deliver cutting edge solutions for society's advancing needs and requirements.