INPP hosts the only accelerator operating in the country, an electrostatic Van de Graaff Tandem accelerator with a maximum acceleration voltage of 5.5 MV. It is a low-energy ion-beam facility, one of the few accelerators of its kind in Europe. It started operating in the 1973 and ever since hosts a very successful multidisciplinary research program being the major scientific instrument not only of the INPP Nuclear Physics and Applications group but also of many other nuclear physics groups from the Greek Universities. Research groups from abroad are also performing measurements at the INPP Tandem, in collaboration with their Greek collaborators.
The accelerator has undergone severe upgrades in the period 2009-2012 thanks to an EC/FP7/REGPOT grant with the acronym LIBRA (Contract No. 230123) of almost 1.5 million Euros. The successful implementation of LIBRA granted the status of a “Center of excellence in Low-energy Ion-Beam Research and Applications” to the Tandem Accelerator Laboratory (TAL) and placed it among leading European low-energy ion-beam laboratories. TAL is currently coordinating the “European Network of Small-scale Accelerator Facilities” (ENSAF), a network of the “European Nuclear Structure and Applications Research” (ENSAR) Integrating Activity funded by the “Horizon 2020” framework program of the European Commission (EC). To date, the Tandem Accelerator Laboratory is recognized by the international scientific community as a laboratory of international stature.
Thanks to LIBRA funds, new state-of-the art instruments and accelerator components have been acquired, including a focused micro-beam system, new HV supplies for quadrupoles and beam-steerers, brand new data-acquisition units and radiation detectors. The major achievement of LIBRA, however, is the creation of a User’s Group around the upgraded accelerator laboratory and the new facilities developed during the course of the project. By the end of the LIBRA project, the LIBRA Users Group consisted of almost 50 external users from Greece and Europe. As of today, at least 1000 hours of beam-time are offered to external users every year.
For more information on the Accelerator visit the homepage of the lab.
The Data Acquisition Monitoring and Analysis (DAMA) instrumentation Laboratory aims at:
• Innovative R&D on Micro Pattern Gaseous Detectors – MPGDs
• Development of MPGD related electronics and DAQ systems
• Dedicated detectors for HEP, Nuclear Physics and applications
DAMA operates since 2000 and its main emphasis is the development of innovative MPGD and in particular Micromegas detectors.
DAMA was the first Laboratory to introduce the Micromegas technology in Greece (2001), promoted their use to the Greek academic community and initiated the most established to date biennial International Conference on MPGDs: “1st International Conference on Micro Pattern Gaseous Detectors – MPGD2009”, Kolympari, Crete and was followed by MPGD2011, Kobe, Japan, MPGD2013, Zaragoza, Spain, MPGD2015, Trieste, Italy, MPGD2017, Philadelphia, USA and MPGD2019, La Rochelle, France.
Micro Pattern detectors can adapt to detect practically any kind of radiation: charged particle like cosmic muons, alphas, nuclei, neutrons, X-rays, visible photons and complement other types of detectors with their unique properties. A particular example is the measurement of the X-ray polarization at energies 1 – 10 keV, that can be performed thanks to the possibility for photoelectron tracking in the gas. This application can be used for X-ray polarimetry in Astronomy as well as in nuclear fusion as a tool to map the electric field in the core of the torus.
For more information on the DAMA Lab visit the homepage of the lab.
A strategic research policy decision was taken in the early nineties regarding the development of a local silicon instrumentation laboratory in NCSR “D”, aiming to assist the R&D program of the High Energy community with construction activities at National level and promote collaboration with industry. The so-called Detector Instrumentation Laboratory (DIL) was created.
In the Phase-I of the CMS experiment our group embarked into the development of the Si sensors for the Preshower sub-detector and the construction of one thousand modules (one quarter of their total number) that were installed in the CMS experiment and are currently taking data.
For the Phase-IΙ upgrade of the CMS experiment, the INPP group has assumed responsibilities for the Tracker silicon upgrade. These responsibilities include Sensor Quality Control, Process Quality Control, development of electronics for the front-end Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) and Hybrids as well as the integration of subsystems towards the commissioning and installation of the detector.
Packaging and interconnection technologies are critical to the development of micro-scale and nano-scale systems in a variety of applications extended from pixel systems for the experiments at the Large hadron Collider at CERN to Micromechanical systems (MEMS) and Biosensors. Existing know-how and expertise, convoluted with new knowledge along with new equipment, establish DIL as a national reference center and a key lab in the South Eastern European region.
For more information on the DIL Lab visit the homepage of the lab.
The X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) laboratory is a unique infrastructure for Greece dedicated in the research and development of X-ray based spectrometric techniques and applications. It includes several in house built portable and commercial benchtop XRF spectrometers in support of field measurements and of ultra-trace elemental analysis of environmental samples. The activities of the XRF laboratory are focused towards:
1) the study of fundamental X-ray interactions with matter and de-excitation processes of ionized atoms, in particular of the X-ray Resonant Raman scattering and cascade L- and M- X-ray emission and
2) the development of analytical methodologies, instrumentation and interdisciplinary applications of X-ray fluorescence and Ion Beam Analysis techniques, with emphasis in the areas of cultural heritage, air pollution and trace element analysis of environmental samples, biomedicine/pharmaceutical, Advanced/Energy materials characterization, geochemistry and in the development of portable XRF instrumentation and
3) analytical services in the fields of Cultural Heritage (in-situ non-destructive XRF measurements with high spatial and depth resolution), environmental monitoring (Particulate Matter analysis, quantification of toxic trace elements), biomedicine (trace elements in biomedical samples), quality control of advanced and industrial materials, technology and know-how transfer to end-users of XRF techniques
For more information on the X-rays Fluorescence Lab visit the homepage of the lab.
KM3NeT will instrument a very large volume of seawater with a three-dimensional grid of photo-sensors [1]. The KM3NeT Digital Optical Modules (DOMs) are pressure resistant glass spheres housing the photo-sensors and the readout electronics. Over 80 elements compose a single DOM: mechanical parts, optical parts, electronics and sensors. The DOM laboratory in INPP is authorized to carry out the integration, validation and testing of KM3NeT DOMs. Critical components are tested in the Lab prior to integration. After closing each DOM an extensive final acceptance test is performed in a light-tight box. The first 18 DOMs corresponding to a full Detection Unit of KM3NeT were completed in 2017. Full rate integration of DOMs is on-going and the activity will continue over the coming years and will be intensified as we enter Phase-2 of the construction of the KM3NeT detectors.
Additional testing and validation efforts are ongoing concerning the high-pressure testing of the DOM penetrators which are used for powering the DOMs and for data transfer from the DOMs. These are done using a high-pressure testing chamber, capable of sustaining pressure up to 600 bars. These tests are done for a large fraction of the KM3NeT DOM penetrators, as the only other similar facility is in NIKHEF, Amsterdam.
The group has also undertaken the calibration of the DOM central logic boards (CLBs), an activity which is expected to continue over the coming years, involving the majority of the corresponding boards used in KM3NeT.
Ref. [1] “Letter of intent for KM3NeT 2.0″; KM3NeT Collab., S. Adrian-Martinez et al.;J.Phys. G43 (2016) no.8, 084001
For more information on the Digital Optical Modules Lab visit the homepage of the lab.
The headquarters of the SW Peloponnese INPP activities are based in Kalamata: currently in a temporary establishment, expecting to move in the Zoumbouleio Megaron, a spectacular early 20th-century building in the center of Kalamata.
A counting room in Methoni and a workshop in Pylos are also supportive to the INPP activities related to the Deep-Sea Technology and Astroparticle Physics Research Infrastructure.
Within the context of its research program, the Opto-Electronic Laboratory has acquired a considerable experience on developing and operating light sources and sensors of various technologies (laser diodes, optical fibers, photodiodes, leds, sensitive photomultipliers) that can cover a wide range of wavelengths. The equipment of the Laboratory allows for the development, realization and verification of the most demanding electronic circuits. The testing equipment is of the most advanced level with capabilities for measurements of high frequency analog, digital or optical signals. The institute’s electronics laboratory has great experience in sensor technology regarding spectrophotometry or environmental sensing and as well as optical electronics (laser diodes, optical fibers, photodiodes, leds…).
Developed Applications
- Online Optical Probes for Quality Control and Safety Assessment of Olive and Other Edible Oils. (http://probeoil.inp.demokritos.gr/PROBEOIL/).
- In collaboration with Prof. Prokopios Magiatis (Pharmacy Department, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens) a specially designed portable spectrometer was developed by the laboratory, to detect the concentration of oleocanthal and oleacein in olive oil (funded by ARISTOIL-InterregMed https://aristoil.interreg-med.eu/).
The developed spectrometer succeeded a remarkable performance and gained the first prize of competition “INNOVATION & ENTREPRENEURSHIP 2018” (https://aristoil.interreg-med.eu/news-events/news/detail/actualites/1st-prize-for-renovation-and-entrepreneurship-2018-for-aristoil/) in olive oil sector
Dr. Georgios Stavropoulos is the scientist in charge of the Laboratory.