Seminars

Uniting Opportunities

On 27 June, a FLNP seminar was held, at which First Deputy Chief of the Kurchatov Complex for Synchrotron and Neutron Investigations of NRC KI S.N.Yakunin and Chief Researcher of NRC KI N.N. Novikova spoke.

S.N.Yakunin introduced to the participants of the seminar the structure and capabilities of the complex, spoke about the main areas of work. Today, the Synchrotron Complex receives more than 300 requests for experiments per year from 60 organisations in Russia and Europe. During the year, the experimental stations accumulate over 25000 hours, providing research in the field of materials science, chemistry, the structure of biological objects, life sciences, the study of archaeological samples and others. More than 150 scientific publications are made annually based on the results of these investigations. The infrastructure of the synchrotron radiation source of the complex develops: if in 1999 it had 5 stations, today there are 14 operating stations and 8 new ones are under construction. It is also expected to modernise the SR source itself to generation 3+, new stations will appear, the project has already been approved by the government.

Neutrons in the complex are used for research in the field of condensed matter and nuclear physics and since 1981 the neutron source has been the RR-8 research reactor with a maximum power of 8 MW. 12 horizontal experimental channels and 6 experimental stations operate on the reactor. Investigations are carried out at stations using neutron stress diffractometry, single-crystal neutron diffractometry, inelastic neutron scattering, neutron powder diffraction, neutron diffraction, neutron tomography and radiography. The infrastructure of the RR-8 reactor is also expected to be developed. The project provides for the construction of a small-angle neutron scattering facility and a source of cold neutrons.

N.N.Novikova dedicated her report to the application of advanced X-ray methods in research on liquid interfaces. And thin films deposited on liquid surfaces are investigated at the experimental synchrotron station Langmuir. The station allows one to carry out research using the methods of standing X-ray waves, X-ray fluorescence analysis in the geometry of total external reflection or X-ray diffraction in a grazing geometry. Similar research is carried out at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble, France and their ID10 facility is in high demand. In total, there are 8-10 similar stations in the world that allow such experiments to be carried out. "In Russia, this technique is not very popular, so we try to attract users," said Natalya Nikolaevna. She spoke about the most striking experiments carried out at the Langmuir facility.

The reports aroused numerous questions from the concerned laboratory staff.

"We aimed at expanding the user community and internal integration," S. N. Yakunin told your correspondent after the seminar," since we see that the goals that are pursued at JINR and especially at FLNP are related to ours. Similar objects, similar methods, but we have a synchrotron source, here we have neutrons. It is for the sake of such a convergence of two areas and two institutes that we asked to organise this seminar: to talk about your tasks and opportunities, to hear about your tasks and the possibilities of the Laboratory. And there is a feeling that we have carried out these tasks."

"Is it related to the upgrade of your SR source that you mentioned?"

"Our meeting is rather aimed at doing common projects, addressing common tasks. This is an expansion of the range of tasks that can be addressed at our facilities and that can be addressed here, such a cross interaction."

"Don't you have enough neutrons of your own?"

"We have stations at the reactor that perform their tasks quite well and are loaded. But the infrastructure at our reactor followed its own path of development, here the infrastructure followed a slightly different path. Now we see that there are opportunities at FLNP that we would be interested in using today, that is, to gain new knowledge about objects, as well as to obtain experimental experience. And then in a slightly different interpretation, since we do not have a pulsed source, but a constant one, we wil implement such experiments on our source and offer these experimental methods in the future to the scientific community from other institutes."

"You had a short meeting with colleagues from FLNP, have you got any practical results?"

"Basically, yes. We have ideas of what we could do together both at the Kurchatov Institute and at FLNP. We are interested not only in biology, but also in the investigation of magnetic systems, so I think the agreements will be implemented."

"Natalya Nikolaevna, you have decided to demonstrate the most relevant, the brightest experiments to attract users…"

"Yes, surely. I tried to show the most interesting results, since the area in which we work, research on liquid surfaces, is in great demand, especially on synchrotron sources. In particular, at ESRF, as I said, the number of applications submitted for a station engaged in such research is five times higher than its capacity. I would really like our scientists to also acquire a taste for such research, I would like to draw the attention of colleagues who are engaged in this. I know that research on liquid surfaces is also implemented here and I would very much like to cooperate."

"Judging by the specific questions from the participants, you have interested colleagues."

"I hope so, as one of the tasks of those groups that work at some station, and I work at the Langmuir station, carry out X-ray investigations on liquid surfaces, is to expand the user community and this is possible only through such communication, creation and implementation of joint projects.

Olga TARANTINA,
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