3-MV TANDETRON

The 3-MV Tandetron accelerator was installed in 2012 and is mainly dedicated to applied physics experiments, fully equipped to do ion beam analysis (IBA) and implantation experiments. The first beam-line has all the necessary detectors to perform particle induced X-ray emission (PIXE), particle induced gamma ray emission (PIGE), Rutherford backscattering (RBS) and elastic recoil detection analysis (ERDA).

We also have the possibility to do micro-beam analysis using a high performance focusing electrostatic quadrupole lens.

The second beam-line is dedicated to implantation experiments, having the possibility to scan a wide sample surface (18x18 cm) with very accurate control of the dose. The third beam-line is a multipurpose beam-line used mainly for nuclear astrophysics experiments.

In order to keep the high voltage on the terminal the tank of the accelerator an insulating mixture of gases is used (10 bars of SF6 and Nitrogen mixture). The high voltage terminal is kept in its central position by the accelerating column. The column is a succession of stainless steel and insulating glass. The steel pieces are linked with resistors (300 MOhm) and this represents a voltage divider from the maximum terminal potential to the ground potential (the ends of the tank).