China The scientific project known as the Low Energy High Intensity Heavy Ion Accelerator Facility (LEAF) began operating this week, located in Lanzhou, Gansu province (west).
Developed by the Institute of Modern Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), this autonomous accelerator is the first of its kind in the world and surpasses similar devices in Europe and the United States in performance, according to project researchers cited this Friday by the official newspaper China Daily.
LEAF has set a new limit by producing carbon ion beams with an intensity of 80 particle microamperes, double the previously recognized data, said Sun Liangting, a member of the development team.
“LEAF can achieve milliampere-level ion beam intensity, much higher than the particle microamperes typically produced by similar accelerators,” he added.
Equipped with an electron cyclotron resonance ion source integrated into a linear accelerator, LEAF stands out for its ability to cover an irradiation area of 10 cm by 10 cmin contrast to the 1 cm by 1 cm of traditional systems.
This advanced technology allows researchers to irradiate up to 100 samples under identical conditions, reducing costs by two-thirds and shortening times from weeks to days, explained Gao Ning, a professor at Shandong University and an early user of the system.
LEAF applications span disciplines such as atomic physics, nuclear astrophysics, and nuclear energy materials development.
Zhao Hongwei, chief scientist of the project, noted that the accelerator “has broad application prospects in cutting-edge interdisciplinary research fields.”
Additionally, it can simulate stellar nuclear reactions, addressing key questions about the evolution of elements such as carbon and oxygen.
“In the future, it will be open to researchers from all over the world,” said Sun Liangting.