Laboratory for Ion Beam Interactions

The group operates the accelerator center consisting of two tandem accelerators and associated experimental beam lines, this being the largest and most complex experimental facility in Croatia.

Voditelj

Zdravko Siketić, dr. sc.

zsiketic@irb.hr

+385 1 457 1227

LIBI group performs basic and interdisciplinary research concerning interactions of ion beams with matter, and develops methods to characterize and modify properties of matter, with emphasis on nanostructure research. Part of the activities are connected to applications of analysis methods in biomedicine, environment as well as on research of cultural heritage objects.

List of available ion beam techniques, categorized per experimental end-stations:

PIXE/RBS station:
Particle-Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE)
Rutherford Backscattering (RBS)

ToF-ERDA station:
Elastic Recoil Detection Analysis (ERDA)
Time-of-Flight Elastic Recoil Detection Analysis (ToF-ERDA)

Ion beam channelling station:
RBS channelling (RBS/c)
PIXE channelling (PIXE/c)

In-air station:
In-air PIXE
X-ray Fluorescence (XRF)

Capillary station:
Capillary MeV Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (MeV TOF-SIMS)

DiFU station (Dual beam irradiation for FUsion materials):
Dual beam irradiation

Ion microprobe:
PIXE, ERDA, RBS, Nuclear Reaction Analysis (NRA), Particle-Induced Gamma-ray Emission (PIGE), coincidence scattering, Ion Beam Induced Luminescence (IBIL), Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry with MeV ions (MeV-SIMS), Secondary Electron Imaging (SEI), Scanning Transmission Ion Microscopy (STIM), Ion Beam Induced Charge (IBIC), Materials modification

Dual microprobe:
Dual ion microprobe (in development)

Useful links:

Video demonstrations representing some of the experiments and techniques typically done in our facility, recorded as part of the IAEA workshop for ion beam analysis.
Also take a look at our video demonstrating the use of accelerators and the production of ion beam.

Since 1997, when an agreement between IAEA and RBI about the use of accelerator facility was signed, researchers from IAEA and its Member states can access the accelerator facility. As part of the FP7 SPIRIT project that started in 2011, the experimental lines of the IRB accelerator have also become available to scientists from the EU and associated countries through the "transnational access" (TNA) scheme. Additionally, since 2017, the laboratory has been a member of the regional research infrastructure network CERIC-ERIC. Foreign researchers were also granted access to the facility's equipment within the framework of two Horizon 2020 projects, AIDA-2020 (2015-2020) for testing radiation detectors with ion beams in high-energy physics and RADIATE (2019-2022) for access to the most advanced techniques for analysis and modification of materials based on ion beams for researchers from academia and industry. Currently, access to the accelerator facility is enabled through three Horizon Europe projects, RIANA (2024-2028) for giving access to developed ion beam analysis techniques for use in the fields of nanoscience and nanotechnology, EURO-LABS (2022-2026) for testing radiation detectors by ion microbeams, and ReMade@ARI (2022-2026) for giving access to the most developed ion beam techniques for materials analysis and modification for research in the field of Circular Economy.

The accelerator facility now provides around 3000 hours of beam time per year. Of this, the portion used within the framework of international cooperation projects has increased from 14% in 2007 to almost 40% in 2017. More details on currently available TNA schemes can be found here.

Accelerator facility and the earthquake On the link above you can find information about the effect of the earthquake that hit Zagreb on the 22nd of March 2020, on the RBI accelerator facility.