CU reaps success at light circuit in Trieste

Charles University and the Physics Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic own an optical circuit for matter research at the Elettra synchrotron in Trieste, Italy. The circuit is administered for CU by the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics and allows a team of experts headed by Professor Vladimír Matolín to carry out unique experiments in resonance spectroscopy in cerium oxide. Thanks to support provided through grants in excess of 130 million crowns, Professor Matolín’s team has, in the last 11 years, made a fundamental contribution towards raising the optical circuit to international standard.

Photo: R. BarnabTeams from universities and scientific institutions from across the world compete for experimental time on the circuit. Like other optical circuits, the MSB is shared infrastructure (open structure). Experiments, which fill seventy percent of the measuring period, are selected twice yearly by the synchrotron’s scientific panel. Amongst the regular applicants for experimental time are scientists from the universities of Erlangen and Dijon engaged in catalysis research; nonetheless, up to half of the 5,000 hours of annual operation are usually taken up by projects originating in the Czech Republic.

The consortium formed by Charles University and the Physics Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences has a contract for the supply of radiation corresponding to 30 percent of annual experimental time for its own needs. Following upgrades and technological adjustments, the remainder of these 1,500 hours can be used for internal experiments, which in this case are selected by a scientific working group of CU and the Academy of Sciences. The c. 25 teams that have the opportunity to experiment with photoelectronic spectroscopy energised by tuneable synchrotron radiation are mainly assisted by two university employees based in Trieste on a full-time basis. Doctorate students also make a significant contribution to the operation of the optical circuit.

The Czech circuit is amongst the most scientifically productive circuits at the synchrotron, while having the smallest budget. Evidence of the success of research carried out on the optical circuit is number of essays with a high impact factor published in journals, including Nature Materials, where as many as twenty articles have appeared.