The Institut Laue–Langevin (ILL) is an internationally financed scientific facility, situated on the Polygone Scientifique in

Grenoble lat, Gratianopolis , commune status = Prefecture and commune , image = Panorama grenoble.png , image size = , caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...

, France. It is one of the world centres for research using

neutron The neutron is a subatomic particle, symbol or , which has a neutral (not positive or negative) charge, and a mass slightly greater than that of a proton. Protons and neutrons constitute the nuclei of atoms. Since protons and neutrons beh ...

s. Founded in 1967 and honouring the

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

s Max von Laue and

Paul Langevin Paul Langevin (; ; 23 January 1872 – 19 December 1946) was a French physicist who developed Langevin dynamics and the Langevin equation. He was one of the founders of the ''Comité de vigilance des intellectuels antifascistes'', an an ...

, the ILL provides one of the most intense neutron sources in the world and the most intense continuous neutron flux in the world in the moderator region: 1.5×10¹⁵ neutrons per second per cm², with a thermal power of typically 58.3 MW. The ILL neutron scattering facilities allow the analysis of the structure of conducting and magnetic materials for future electronic devices, the measurement of stresses in mechanical materials. It also allows investigations into

macromolecular assemblies The term macromolecular assembly (MA) refers to massive chemical structures such as viruses and non-biologic nanoparticles, cellular organelles and membranes and ribosomes, etc. that are complex mixtures of polypeptide, polynucleotide, polys ...

, particularly

protein dynamics Proteins are generally thought to adopt unique structures determined by their amino acid sequences. However, proteins are not strictly static objects, but rather populate ensembles of (sometimes similar) conformations. Transitions between these stat ...

and

biomolecular structure Biomolecular structure is the intricate folded, three-dimensional shape that is formed by a molecule of protein, DNA, or RNA, and that is important to its function. The structure of these molecules may be considered at any of several length s ...

. It is a world-renowned centre for

nanoscale The nanoscopic scale (or nanoscale) usually refers to structures with a length scale applicable to nanotechnology, usually cited as 1–100 nanometers (nm). A nanometer is a billionth of a meter. The nanoscopic scale is (roughly speaking) a lo ...

science.

History

Institut Laue Langevin inside reactor hall

The institute was founded by France and Germany, with the United Kingdom becoming the third major partner in 1973. These partner states provide, through

Research Councils Research funding is a term generally covering any funding for scientific research, in the areas of natural science, technology, and social science. Different methods can be used to disburse funding, but the term often connotes funding obtained th ...

, the bulk of its funding. Ten other countries have since become partners. Scientists of institutions in the member states may apply to use the ILL facilities, and may invite scientists from other countries to participate. Experimental time is allocated by a scientific council involving ILL users. The use of the facility and travel costs for researchers are paid for by the institute. Commercial use, for which a fee is charged, is not subject to the scientific council review process. Over 750 experiments are completed every year, in fields including magnetism, superconductivity, materials engineering, and the study of liquids, colloids and biological substances such as proteins. The high-flux

research reactor Research reactors are nuclear fission-based nuclear reactors that serve primarily as a neutron source. They are also called non-power reactors, in contrast to power reactors that are used for electricity production, heat generation, or marit ...

produces neutrons through fission in a compact-core fuel element.

Neutron moderators In nuclear engineering, a neutron moderator is a medium that reduces the speed of fast neutrons, ideally without capturing any, leaving them as thermal neutrons with only minimal (thermal) kinetic energy. These thermal neutrons are immensely mor ...

cool the neutrons to wavelengths usable experimentally. Neutrons are then directed at a suite of instruments to probe the structure and behaviour of many forms of matter by elastic and

inelastic neutron scattering Neutron scattering, the irregular dispersal of free neutrons by matter, can refer to either the naturally occurring physical process itself or to the man-made experimental techniques that use the natural process for investigating materials. Th ...

, and to probe the fundamental physical properties of the

. Fission products and

gamma rays A gamma ray, also known as gamma radiation (symbol γ or \gamma), is a penetrating form of electromagnetic radiation arising from the radioactive decay of atomic nuclei. It consists of the shortest wavelength electromagnetic waves, typically ...

produced by nuclear reactions in the reactor core are also used by the instrument suite. In 2000 began the introduction of new instruments and instrument upgrades. The first phase has already resulted in a 17-fold gains in performance. The second phase started in 2008: it comprises the building of 5 new instruments, the upgrade of 4 others, and the installation of 3 new neutron guides.

EPN Science Campus

The ILL shares its site, the 'epn science campus', with other institutions including the

European Synchrotron Radiation Facility The European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) is a joint research facility situated in Grenoble, France, supported by 22 countries (13 member countries: France, Germany, Italy, the UK, Spain, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, ...

(ESRF) and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and the

Unit for Viral Host Cell Interactions The Unit of Virus Host Interactions (UVHCI) UMI 3265 UJF-EMBL-CNRS was created in Grenoble, France, in January 2007 to develop the collaboration between the Joseph Fourier University, the EMBL Grenoble outstation and the CNRS. The UVHCI was located ...

(UVHCI). The French Institut de Biologie Structural (IBS) joined the campus in 2013.

Members

The ILL is governed by its Associates, the founding countries: *France, Germany and United Kingdom in association with its Scientific Member countries (listed below by chronological order of accession): *Spain, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Czech Republic, Sweden, Belgium, Slovakia, Poland, Denmark and Slovenia.

Applications research

In 2019, researchers unravelled information about a protein causing progressive diseases. In summer 2016 the Institut Laue–Langevin demonstrated that a molecule called

ectoine Ectoine (1,4,5,6-tetrahydro-2-methyl-4-pyrimidinecarboxylic acid) is a natural compound found in several species of bacteria. It is a compatible solute which serves as a protective substance by acting as an osmolyte and thus helps organisms surv ...

is used by

Halomonas titanicae ''Halomonas titanicae'' is a gram-negative, halophilic species of bacteria which was isolated in 2010 from rusticles recovered from the wreck of the RMS ''Titanic''. It has been estimated by Henrietta Mann, one of the researchers that first iso ...

near the wreck of

RMS Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United ...

to survive the osmotic pressure that salt water causes on their membranes.

Awards and recognitions

The physicist Duncan Haldane who worked at the institute from 1977 to 1981 received the

Nobel Prize in Physics ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then " ...

in 2016 with Michael Kosterlitz and David J. Thouless for their work on the transitions of topological phases in the material. Rudolf Mossbauer, Nobel Prize in Physics in 1961, succeeded

Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Heinz Maier-Leibnitz (28 March 1911, in Esslingen am Neckar – 16 December 2000, in Allensbach) was a German physicist. He made contributions to nuclear spectroscopy, coincidence measurement techniques, radioactive tracers for biochemistry and m ...

in 1972 as the director of the institute. The physicist Philippe Nozieres, who worked at the institute from 1972 until his retirement, received the

Wolf Prize The Wolf Prize is an international award granted in Israel, that has been presented most years since 1978 to living scientists and artists for ''"achievements in the interest of mankind and friendly relations among people ... irrespective of nati ...

in 1985, together with

Conyers Herring William Conyers Herring (November 15, 1914 – July 23, 2009) was an American physicist. He was a Professor of Applied Physics at Stanford University and the Wolf Prize in Physics recipient in 1984/5. Academic career Conyers Herring completed ...

, for their major contributions to the fundamental theory of solids, especially the behaviour of electrons in metals.Physics Today, Herring, Nozieres and Marcus receive Wolf Awards, September 1985
/ref>

Techniques

Neutron diffraction Neutron diffraction or elastic neutron scattering is the application of neutron scattering to the determination of the atomic and/or magnetic structure of a material. A sample to be examined is placed in a beam of thermal or cold neutrons to o ...

Small angle neutron scattering Small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) is an analytical technique, experimental technique that uses elastic neutron scattering at small scattering angles to investigate the structure of various substances at a mesoscopic scale of about 1–100&nbs ...

Neutron reflectometry Neutron reflectometry is a neutron diffraction technique for measuring the structure of thin films, similar to the often complementary techniques of X-ray reflectivity and ellipsometry. The technique provides valuable information over a wide var ...

Inelastic neutron scattering Neutron scattering, the irregular dispersal of free neutrons by matter, can refer to either the naturally occurring physical process itself or to the man-made experimental techniques that use the natural process for investigating materials. Th ...

** Neutron triple-axis spectrometry **

Neutron time-of-flight scattering The neutron is a subatomic particle, symbol or , which has a neutral (not positive or negative) charge, and a mass slightly greater than that of a proton. Protons and neutrons constitute the nuclei of atoms. Since protons and neutrons beha ...

Neutron backscattering Neutron backscattering is one of several inelastic neutron scattering techniques. Backscattering from monochromator and analyzer crystals is used to achieve an energy resolution in the order of μeV. Neutron backscattering experiments are performed ...

Neutron spin echo Neutron spin echo spectroscopy is an inelastic neutron scattering technique invented by Ferenc Mezei in the 1970s, and developed in collaboration with John Hayter. In recognition of his work and in other areas, Mezei was awarded the first Walte ...

References

Sources

The 2017 ILL annual reportLe Journal du CNRS, printemps 2019: Ces laboratoires qui illuminent l'Europe

External links

*
Institut Laue-Langevin

ILL general presentation film
{{DEFAULTSORT:Institut Laue-Langevin Neutron facilities Physics institutes Research institutes in France Science and technology in Grenoble