PMI research group news

FOM Institute DIFFER is starting a large research program to tackle the greatest barrier on the road to clean fusion energy. The institute wants to remove heat and fast particles exhausted by the artificial sun in a fusion reactor in a controlled way, before they can damage the reactor wall.

On 23 November 2016 the new superconducting magnet for Magnum-PSI was ramped up to its maximum field of 2.5 tesla for the first time after its arrival at DIFFER in October 2016.

DIFFER has started the assembly of an upgraded version of its successful Pilot-PSI (Plasma Surface Interaction) project. By connecting the device with its powerful plasma source and steady state magnets to a beamline of the Ion Beam Facility, Pilot-PSI Upgrade will be able to deliver new insights in the real-time dynamics of how materials react to a plasma.

With the installation of a superconducting magnet on its unique facility Magnum-PSI, DIFFER can now study the long-term behaviour of materials under the harsh conditions in future fusion reactors. On Saturday 8 October, the 17 ton magnet arrived at DIFFER and was carefully lifted onto its chassis by a 400 ton crane.

From the entrance of the DIFFER building the new Ion Beam Facility is clearly visible. This huge microscope for material properties does not look at light, but uses a stream of fast ions to probe a material's surface and subsurface.