Unique scientific facility “International Center for Neutron Research at the PIK High-Flux Reactor”
Documents of the International Center for Neutron Research at the PIK High-Flux Reactor
Pursuant to paragraph 1(d) of Presidential Decree No. 356 of the Russian Federation dated July 25, 2019, the following five research instruments were commissioned on December 18, 2020, at the PIK reactor:
NERO-2 reflectometer;
TNR reflectometer;
T-Spectrum spectrometer;
TEX-3 diffractometer;
PND diffractometer.
At the same time, parameters and experimental capabilities of the PIK High-Flux Research Reactor position it as a globally competitive mega-science facility, outperforming all existing research reactors including the world’s only comparable facility—the HFR reactor at the European Center for Neutron Research—Institut Laue–Langevin (ILL, Grenoble, France).
The PIK reactor is a powerful source of neutrons, which are moderated to specific energy levels and directed through specialized channels to experimental instruments.
Five experimental stations support a full range of neutron techniques—including diffraction, reflectometry, and spectrometry—making this facility unique: there are currently not enough neutron complexes in Russia that offer a comparable range of techniques.
Three of the five stations are capable of operating with polarized neutron beams, which represents a natural continuation and further development of the achievements of the School of Polarized Neutrons, whose methodological and theoretical foundations were established at the NRC “Kurchatov Institute”—PNPI.
The instruments’ adaptability to the reactor’s neutron flux composition and intensity, as well as their scientific and methodological specificity, allow them to be considered as a single, unique scientific facility (USF) integrated with the reactor, known as the “International Center for Neutron Research at the PIK High-Flux Reactor”. If the USF develops successfully, it is expected to retain its uniqueness for several decades.
The list of mandatory documents governing the activities of the USF was approved by Resolution No. 429 of the Government of the Russian Federation dated May 17, 2016.
