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SOLARIS NATIONAL SYNCHROTRON RADIATION CENTRE -SOLARIS UJ
The SOLARIS synchrotron is the largest scientific research device in Poland. It is also the first and only synchrotron light source in Central Europe.
Synchrotron radiation (also called synchrotron light) is produced in a synchrotron, and then directed to beamlines with experimental end-stations. Beamlines modify the synchrotron light in such a way that it best serves scientists and their measurements. The Centre has been opened for Users since 2018 and at the end of 2021, SOLARIS facilitates the five beamlines, operating in the range of radiation from UV to soft X-ray, providing various experimental techniques. At the PIRX beamline, the Users can exploit X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XANES region, X-ray absorption near edge structure) and magnetic dichroism. The main technique at the URANOS beamline is Angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy (ARPES). The PHELIX beamline based on two methods, ARPES and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XANES). Opened in last year DEMETER beamline offers two end-stations: Scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM) and Photoemission electron microscopy (PEEM). The bending magnet, recently opened ASTRA beamline will be dedicated to X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). Next three new beamlines are under construction and they will be open in the next years.
Ultimately, however, the experimental hall of the Kraków accelerator will house dozens of them. In total, the beamlines will be fitted with about twenty end-stations. SOLARIS Centre is more than the synchrotron alone. In our building, there are also two cryo-electron microscopes of the latest generation: Titan Krios G3i and Glacios. Synchrotrons allow us to look into the depths of matter itself, and carry out precise analyses. Thanks to synchrotrons, scientists study not only the composition of a given substance, but also its structure – the light of the synchrotron can penetrate into the studied material. It can reproduce hidden layers or fragments of them with any level of detail, without damaging the surface layers. Synchrotron radiation also stimulates processes taking.
Synchrotrons allow us to look into the depths of matter itself, and carry out precise analyses. Thanks to synchrotrons, scientists study not only the composition of a given substance, but also its structure – the light of the synchrotron can penetrate into the studied material. It can reproduce hidden layers or fragments of them with any level of detail, without damaging the surface layers. Synchrotron radiation also stimulates processes taking place in the material, and can bring about changes in the studied material.
Synchrotrons open up completely new research possibilities. Thanks to them, we can carry out analyses which were previously impossible. Synchrotrons also allow us to obtain better results than those from studies carried out using traditional methods. The synchrotron beamlines are currently the most versatile research tools possessed in the natural and technical sciences, such as biology, chemistry, physics, materials engineering, nanotechnology, medicine, pharmacology, geology, or crystallography.
The National Synchrotron Radiation Centre functions under the auspices of the Jagiellonian University. It is located on the Campus of the 600th Anniversary of the Jagiellonian University Revival, in the southern part of Kraków. The project Centre was established between 2010 and 2015. The investment was co-financed by the European Union with funds from the European Regional Development Fund, as part of the Innovative Economy Operational Programme for 2007-2013.
Technical information:
Time of departure: 13:00
Duration of the visit: 14:00 – 16:30
The excellent parameters of the SOLARIS synchrotron put it in the forefront of this type of devices in the world.
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BRONOWICE CYCLOTRON CENTER - CCB IFJ PAN
The Bronowice Cyclotron Center (CCB - IFJ PAN) is a department of the Henryk Niewodniczański Institute of Nuclear Physics Polish Academy of Sciences in Krakow. It is the first center in Poland and one of the first in Central and Eastern Europe to provide regular proton radiotherapy to cancer patients.
CCB is equipped with an advanced C-230 isochronous cyclotron, which delivers a proton beam to four stations, three of which are used for clinical purposes—irradiating patients with a proton beam. Proton radiation therapy is a highly advanced form of radiotherapy that provides protection for healthy tissues surrounding the tumor, which is particularly important for pediatric patients.
The first station is used for irradiating patients with eye tumors, using a horizontal scattered proton beam of 70 MeV energy. Patients of the Clinical Department of Ophthalmology and Ophthalmic Oncology at the University Hospital in Krakow are treated there.
CCB is also equipped with two gantry stations and infrastructure for irradiating pediatric patients, allowing for radiation therapy of tumors in any location of the patient's body. The gantry stations primarily treat cancers of the head and neck area. Proton therapy at these stations is carried out in cooperation with a team from the Maria Skłodowska-Curie National Research Institute of Oncology in Krakow.
The cyclotron at CCB is also used by scientists, including physicists, engineers, and radiobiologists. The proton beams produced by the cyclotron are used to study the properties of atomic nuclei, the sensitivity of biological materials to radiation, and to test components of modern detection systems for international nuclear physics experiments. CCB collaborates with leading scientific and clinical centers worldwide.
CCB stands at the forefront of cancer treatment and scientific exploration, pioneering proton therapy in Poland and contributing to global medical and scientific progress.
Technical information:
Time of departure: 13:00
Duration of the visit: 14:00 – 16:30
The Academic Centre for Materials and Nanotechnology at AGH University of Science and Technology
The Academic Centre for Materials and Nanotechnology at AGH University of Science and Technology is a place where we carry out interdisciplinary research combining materials engineering, physics, materials chemistry and biotechnology. The main areas of research concern the design and manufacture of functional materials, the characterisation of their properties using modern microscopic and spectroscopic techniques, and the study of phenomena occurring at the nanoscale. We are working on metal oxide-based semiconductor nano-systems for photocatalytic and information processing applications, quantum effects in nanostructures, nanomagnetism, and developing the theory of quantum systems made of superconductors, graphene layers and materials with strong electron correlation. We are also carrying out research on thin films, including polymeric materials and hybrid materials, with applications in anti-cancer therapy, gene therapy and environmental engineering.
We have unique equipment for fabrication and characterisation of materials on a nationwide scale. We are present on the Polish Research Infrastructure Map associating the 70 best research infrastructures in Poland. Our facilities include a high-class clean room for electron lithography, equipment enabling the production of nanoparticles, nanostructures and thin films (PVD, PLD). We offer the possibility to study physical and chemical properties using high-end electron microscopes and scanning probe microscopes (FIB-SEM, TEM, AFM, STM), spectrometers (UV-Vis-NIR, FTIR) and diffractometers. We also have dedicated apparatus for magnetic, optical and photoelectric measurements, as well as a helium cooler for investigating heat flow phenomena and electrical properties at ultra-low temperatures.
Technical information
Transport: on foot approx. 20 minutes one way
Duration of the tour: approx. 60 - 90 minutes