Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: Novosibirsk State University – Novosibirsk State University –
The decision to create the SKIF-NSU educational and research station “Basic Methods of Synchrotron Diagnostics for Educational, Research and Innovative Activities of Students” was made at the NSU Academic Council in October 2024. This station is being created within the framework of the partnership agreement between NSU, the Boreskov Institute of Catalysis SB RAS, the Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics SB RAS and the SKIF Collective Use Center. It may become one of the first stations operating at SKIF, along with six stations of the first stage.
— To launch the educational and research station, there will be no need for complex technical devices for generating synchrotron radiation — wigglers or undulators. It will use radiation from a bending magnet. Most of the station’s units are already available from partner organizations, and the missing devices are planned to be purchased during 2024. Therefore, there is a real opportunity to put it into operation in parallel with the first-stage stations, but unlike them, this station does not require complex commissioning. The bending magnet is an integral part of the accelerator complex, and it will not need to be purchased or manufactured additionally. Much equipment for the educational and research station has already been purchased by the parties to the Agreement and is currently in operation at the Siberian Center for Synchrotron and Terahertz Radiation. All that remains is to wait for the commissioning of the SKIF CCU and the subsequent installation of the equipment, — said a senior researcher at the SKIF CCU and the Laboratory of Structural Diagnostics of Ultradisperse and Nanostructured Systems Physics Department of NSU Andrey Saraev.
Serious preparatory work was done to create an educational and scientific station at the university. As a result of the implementation of projects at NSU in 2022-2023 to develop its concept and design, Russian and foreign experience in creating such multi-purpose modular stations was studied, an analysis of the compatibility of various spectral and diffraction techniques was carried out, technical requirements were drawn up and a basic diagram of the station was developed. Design solutions for creating the station were developed, an analysis of the existing equipment in partner organizations was carried out, technical documentation was developed as part of determining the requirements for equipment and external parameters for creating a research facility for experiments using synchrotron radiation, combining a set of diffraction and spectral methods, including powder and single-crystal X-ray diffraction, X-ray absorption spectroscopy and X-ray fluorescence analysis. Part of the necessary equipment for the station was purchased – two fluorescence detectors. The acquisition of an X-ray diffraction detector is planned for next year.
— We are currently updating the detection system for X-ray absorption spectroscopy. This is NSU’s contribution to the creation of the educational and scientific station, which is being implemented within the framework of the Priority 2030 program. In total, it amounts to about 15 million rubles. At the moment, another important acquisition made by NSU for the educational and scientific station being created is being processed — an ionization chamber for measuring the intensity of X-ray radiation and components for it. It will work in conjunction with the equipment purchased last year, — Andrey Saraev explained.
According to the established deadlines for commissioning the station, its launch is planned for September 2025. It is assumed that the station will be used to work with senior students and postgraduates of the Physics Department, the Faculty of Natural Sciences and the Geological and Geophysical Department of NSU. Training in working with experimental research methods will be carried out through solving scientific problems formulated and set by researchers and teachers of NSU, as well as scientists from institutes of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
— These are always non-standard, modern tasks. There are no traditional ways or ready-made methodological materials to solve them. Therefore, the knowledge that young researchers will receive as a result of research work will be relevant and modern. Senior students are already familiar with experimental work, have completed various practical courses, they have experience of independent work, so they can be involved in more complex scientific work. It is worth noting that, first of all, the station is designed to conduct scientific research with the participation of students, prepare diploma and course papers. We believe that the station will also be interesting for conducting programs to train personnel for SKIF and improve their qualifications, — explained Andrey Saraev.
It is predicted that the scientific community formed around the SKIF Center for Collective Use will only expand every year, and the number of those interested in working at the educational and scientific station will increase. But at the moment, unfortunately, not all of them have sufficient information about modern methodological approaches to conducting research. Therefore, it is assumed that the station will conduct advanced training courses for scientists – a kind of elimination of synchrotron illiteracy in the scientific community. It has already begun in the student community – at the Physics Department, Andrey Saraev and his colleagues are giving a course for senior students on “Study of Solids Using Synchrotron Radiation.”
— It is difficult to underestimate the importance of the educational and scientific station being created. Firstly, it combines two universal methods: X-ray absorption spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. Both of them are in great demand by the scientific community, because, unlike other methods, they allow one to study a wide range of objects, from functional materials to proteins and cultural heritage objects. Secondly, sample preparation for them is relatively simple. Accordingly, the number of systems being studied is larger: one object can be studied in two to three hours, whereas with other methods, this may take tens of hours. The information obtained is prompt, visual and of high quality. It is important that the plan and strategy for performing the work can be adjusted during the study. Stations where such methods are implemented are very prolific in terms of scientific publications and work carried out, so their demand is very high, and the flow of tasks is voluminous, — said Andrey Saraev.
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