Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ receives over €1.3 million funding for a new accelerator
The new accelerator will replace the ageing 1.7 MV Pelletron accelerator, used successfully for high level accelerator-based materials science. The new platform allows JYFL-ACCLAB to meet the future demands and enable closer collaboration with industry and local, national and international research groups.
High current proton and intense neutron beams expand the irradiation capabilities, benefiting biomedical research, nuclear astrophysics and radiation effects testing. Combining this with the state-of-the-art characterization methods, a unique cluster of innovation and education is created. In the future, the new accelerator platform will enable the use of ion beam techniques with sub-μm lateral resolution by employing a nuclear microprobe. High energy ion implantation allows the expertise of Finnish semiconductor industry to expand into new markets and will improve their competitiveness.
"The funding from the Academy of Finland enables the accelerator laboratory to diversify its research, and is also a strong recognition of accelerator-based research," says Timo Sajavaara, Professor of Accelerator-Based Materials Physics and project leader.
The accelerator laboratory's main accelerator, the K130 cyclotron, has now been in daily research use for almost exactly 30 years, and the Pelletron accelerator, donated by VTT (Technical Research Centre of Finland), has also been in active use in Jyväskylä for 15 years. "When Pelletron retires in just over two years, it will have served Finnish science and research for almost four decades. It is fair to say that the investments made in accelerators and accelerator-based research are well worth it!" Sajavaara continues.
In the video below, Timo Sajavaara explains what particle accelerators have to do with mobile phones, computers, solar panels and planetary well-being, among other things.
All can be found on the Faculty of Mathematics and Science Youtube channel.
