MARS beamline is aiming to extend the research capabilities on radioactive matter ( a, ß, γ and n emitters) towards the use of synchrotron radiation in multidisciplinary fields (biology, chemistry, physics) with respect to safety national and European laws. This beamline will be considered as a listed installation under authorization from ASN (French Authority for Nuclear Security). Because of its special characteristics the total equivalent activities present at the same time including the storage on the beamline could be up to 185 GBq with a maximum of 18.5 GBq (0.5 Ci) per sample. The design of MARS beamline (infrastructure and optics) is also optimized to alternatively run three experimental stations in order to perform characterizations from high resolution X ray powder-diffraction (XRD), X ray fluorescence (XRF),X ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and dispersive XAS (DXAS) for time resolved studies (ms scale).
Leading research institutes in France , such as the CEA and the CNRS support this project.
Current status (2011) : Currently, only the monochromatic branch is operational.
Two experimental stations are now opened to call for proposals:
1) the
standard XAS and transmission XRD station 2) the
High Resolution X-ray Diffraction station (HRXRD) For more details concerning the experimental end stations please
check here.
Only
low radioactive samples (below the French exemption limit) are currently allowed on the beamline. (NOW a coefficient Q<1 is allowed for all isotopes).
For the list of radionuclides already analyzed on the beamline please
check here.
Fore more details concerning the safety rules for radioactive samples please
check here.
(not yet up to date for total Q authorized)
News :
