Instrumentation

We conduct specific instrumentation research for the needs of other scientific disciplines. Beyond developments for our research, we conduct specific instrumentation research for the needs of other scientific disciplines.

We develop for astrophysics and particle physics, and in close collaboration with laboratories specialized in these fields, ultra-sensitive cryogenic instrumentation chains, from cryogenic detectors to the refrigeration systems of these detectors. Some recent examples are the refrigerator of the Edelweiss dark matter experiment, the gravity insensitive dilution refrigerator of the HFI instrument of the Planck satellite for the measurement of fossil radiation from the Universe, or the development of superconducting detector cameras for millimetre astronomy.

These skills are also at the basis of several collaborative projects, ranging from the field of nanofabrication with the development of an ion etching device to that of biology and health with the development of biocompatible diamond electrodes or that of a cryogenic system for the production of markers for magnetic resonance imaging.

Finally, we are developing specific equipment for the detection of X-rays or neutrons: monochromators, focusing optics, diffusion and diffraction experiments under extreme conditions, ultra-high vacuum, high pressure, very low or very high temperatures, but also for the analysis of heritage materials.

Assembly of the cryostat
of the Edelweiss space experiment