UK ISIS Team Lead on Major Instruments for ESS

A team from STFC’s ISIS Spallation Neutron Source in Oxfordshire has been selected as the prime contractor on two key instruments, LoKI and FREIA, destined as part of the world’s largest microscope, the European Spallation Source (ESS) currently being built in Sweden.

The two instruments, which will use neutrons to examine the structure of matter, are set to help scientists in a huge array of applications – from medical research to new materials – at the new facility in Lund, one of the largest science and technology infrastructure projects of the decade.

Professor Robert McGreevy, Director of the STFC ISIS Spallation Neutron Source said of this new agreement from the ESS:  “ISIS is particularly strong in the area of neutron enabled nanoscience research. These two new instruments will provide unique scientific capabilities that will fully exploit the complementary time structures of the ESS and ISIS facilities.”

Jim Yeck, ESS Director General said: "The construction of ESS is moving forward according to plans. Successful delivery of ESS always required that the hugely experienced STFC ISIS team take the lead role on multiple instruments, including one of the first instruments. I am delighted with this decision, and look forward to working with ISIS to provide a positive early example of how to build world class instruments in collaboration with other partners.”

LoKI is a small angle neutron scattering instrument for soft matter, materials and bioscience, FREIA is a horizontal reflectometer that will allow the structural analysis of thin films for the fast growing science areas of soft condensed matter and life sciences.

The ISIS team will lead refining of the engineering and scientific design of the instrument components before procurement for trial-assembly in STFC, thus proving in function as much as possible prior to shipping and integration into the ESS facility in Lund, Sweden.

STFC is managing the UK contribution to the ESS, which includes in-kind contributions to ESS construction. STFC’s Accelerator Science and Technology Centre (ASTeC) was the first partner to provide an in-kind contribution to ESS, with recently delivered new state of the art vacuum facilities.