Index Introduction The Research at Rijnhuizen Results in 2008 Education, Training, Outreach and Public Information Output Appendix website Rijnhuizen 3.1 | Research programmes at Rijnhuizen The research at the FOM-Institute for Plasma Physics Rijnhuizen focuses on Fusion Physics, Generation and Utilization of THz radiation (GUTHz) and nanolayer Surface and Interface physics (nSI). Rijnhuizen is the national home-base for fusion research and exploits the free-electron infrared laser FELIX/FELICE, an international user facility. Also, advanced multilayer optics for extreme ultraviolet radiation are developed for the computer chip industry. In this chapter, the results obtained in 2008 are presented for the following research areas: Manipulation of mesoscale structures in hot, magnetised plasmas In the frame of research on fusion, the study of high temperature plasmas as an energy source is now carried out under the FOM-programme 74: ‘Manipulation of meso-scale structures in hot, magnetised plasmas’ led by Niek Lopes Cardozo. This research explores and develops the concept that hot plasmas have a rich structure on the mesoscale with a significant impact on plasma dynamics and performance. The major objectives are the understanding and control of this structure. The objectives are mainly to be achieved through high-resolution measurements and manipulation of this structure in experiments, along with numerical magneto-fluid simulations and the advancement of relevant theoretical models. The experimental part of this programme is concentrated in the plasma physics laboratory in Jülich, where about half of the team is permanently stationed. PSI-lab, an integrated laboratory on plasma-surface interaction The FOM-programme 75: ‘PSI-lab, an integrated laboratory on plasma-surface interaction’, under the joint management of Aart Kleyn and Niek Lopes Cardozo, focuses on the interaction of extreme plasma and/or photon fluxes with material surfaces, and brings together research on XUV optics for lithography and that on plasma-surface interaction in conditions relevant to fusion reactors. An important aim of the investigation is to access the strongly coupled regime, in which the particles that come of the surface are kept in the system and define the plasma-surface interaction. The main application of this research is the plasma-surface interaction in fusion experiments and in future fusion power plants. The IR user facility FELIX, expanded with FELICE The operation of the IR user facility FELIX, which offers the international science community access to a very bright, tuneable mid- and far-IR source, is led by Lex van der Meer. Every year, more than 20 groups from all over the world, and working in various research fields, come to FELIX to perform experiments. The FELIX facility is being expanded with FELICE, which makes experiments at much higher intensity possible. This expansion of FELIX was being carried out under FOM-programme 58 ‘The IR user facility FELIX, expanded with FELICE’, with additional investments by NWO. Molecular dynamics studies with intense IR radiation The exploitation of the unique capabilities of FELIX in molecular physics with several different types of experiments is supported by FOM-Programme 59: ‘Molecular dynamics studies with intense IR radiation’ led by Jos Oomens and Gerard Meijer. These experiments all have as objective to investigate the energy flow processes in molecular systems and/or to study the infrared optical properties of “exotic” species. The individual projects can be classified as: 1) IR ion dip spectroscopy of gas phase biomolecules, 2) IR multiple photon dissociation of molecular ions in an FTICR mass spectrometer, and 3) IR induced dissociation and ionisation of gas-phase clusters. Extreme UV multilayer optics The FOM Industrial Partnership programme I10 on ‘Extreme UV multilayer optics (XMO)’, headed by Fred Bijkerk, focuses on the physics of multilayer structures with atomically sharp interfaces in strong radiation fields. Key issues are the development and application of the physics and associated process technology of compounded periodic multilayer structures, which have atomically sharp, flat interfaces, and are chemically stable, radiation damage resistant, and dimension controlled down to the sub-nanometer range. Surface and thin film processes beyond EUV applications The nSI department carries out a number of research topics which are related to different applications than EUV photolithography. These are either aimed to wavelengths beyond the Extreme UV, as in the case of the European FLASH XUV research, or to longer wavelengths, namely 193 nanometer. These areas contain related physics and chemistry, but fall beside the topics investigated in the IPP XMO programme. Astrophysical plasma physics The study of the magnetohydrodynamics of plasmas in astrophysical systems, such as accretion disks around young stars, relativistic hydrodynamics, gamma ray bursts, and astrophysical jets. Use is made of high-resolution, parallel computer codes. This work is supported by FOM-Transition Programme 58.