Neutron Facilities

At a glance │ Challenges │ Solutions │ Contact │ Research Groups

At a glance

In the “Neutron Facilities” topic, Jülich researchers and highly specialized engineers are dedicated to the operation and the optimisation of existing, as well as the development and construction of new neutron sources and facilities. The next generation of neutron sources will not only be more powerful, but also less expensive and more accessible. This will enable a broader spectrum of research and applications.

Challenges

Neutrons are indispensable probes for materials research, solid-state and nuclear physics, chemical and biological research, and geoscience. In Germany alone, however, over 30 research reactors were decommissioned and dismantled in recent years. In order to continue to provide researchers and industry with valuable insights using neutrons and to ensure progress, state-of-the-art neutron sources are required – operated as part of international collaborations.

Solutions

Forschungszentrum Jülich has pooled its activities in the development of new neutron sources and facilities in the work of the Jülich Centre for Neutron Science (JCNS). JCNS also operates LK II facilities at the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz-Zentrum in Garching and at the Institut Laue-Langevin in Grenoble (France). These facilities are used for advanced neutron scattering experiments.

Jülich also produced several elementary components for the European Spallation Source (ESS) in Lund, which is set to become the world’s most powerful pulsed neutron source. These components include the moderators developed by the Central Institute of Engineering, Electronics and Analytics (ZEA) to slow down the neutrons, which are also referred to as the “cold heart” of the ESS. They are part of the target station, which is essentially the hub of the entire facility.

At the same time, the Jülich experts are designing the next generation of neutron sources as part of the High Brilliance Source (HBS) project. This project aims to design a new generation of compact, high-brilliance neutron sources that are more flexible, and, therefore, more cost-effective than previous sources.