The mission of Rijnhuizen

Rijnhuizen is one of the three research institutes of the Foundation for fundamental research on matter (FOM), the funding organization for physics in the Netherlands. In addition to these three institutes, FOM supports a large fraction of the physics research at Dutch universities. The primary goal of FOM is to promote fundamental research on matter for the advancement of science. The research funded by FOM is nationally coordinated in some 100 comprehensive research programmes, so-called 'FOM programmes'. Currently, Rijnhuizen hosts 5 of these FOM programmes that run at Rijnhuizen only, and participates in 2 nationwide FOM programmes. The plasma physics research and the work on radiation sources on Rijnhuizen is accommodated in the national research school CPS (Centre for plasma physics and radiation technology).

The FOM Institute for Plasma Physics ‘Rijnhuizen’ was inaugurated in 1959 with the mission to be the Dutch centre for fusion research. Since then, the scientific programme has included fundamental (experimental and theoretical) plasma physics research and research on fusion technology.

Gradually, the progress in fusion called for increasingly large experimental facilities. This led to the decision in 1995/1996 to form the Trilateral Euregio Cluster (TEC) with institutes in Jülich and Brussels for a joint programme on the TEXTOR tokamak in Jülich, Germany. Rijnhuizen has currently no large in-house experimental fusion experiments, but a new large facility to study plasma-surface interaction, Magnum-PSI, is almost completed at the institute. The research on this new facility will be important for the international ITER project, the next step in the development of fusion as a clean, safe and sustainable source of energy. Rijnhuizen is the home base for all Dutch researchers in high-temperature plasma physics.

The fusion and plasma physics research at Rijnhuizen was reorganised during 2009, resulting in the (High Temperature) Fusion Physics department lead by Tony Donné, and the department Plasma Surface Interactions PSI lead by Jürgen Rapp, focussing on low temperature plasma physics. Materials processing and thin film deposition are also included in the PSI activities.

Around 1986, it was decided to broaden the mission of Rijnhuizen also beyond plasma physics. This resulted in the start of an activity in quantum electronics in 1987: the development of an infrared Free Electron Laser, FELIX. In 1994 FELIX became an international user facility, attracting user groups from all over the world. The focus of all groups concerned is on experiments in the THz spectral range. Hence the name of the department has been changed to Generation and Utilization of Terahertz radiation (GUTHz), which operates under the leadership of Lex van der Meer. The GUTHz department comprises two groups – the FELIX group and the Molecular Dynamics group – that develop free electron laser based terahertz sources and perform experiments in the terahertz spectral range. Here, they among others employ new schemes in the field of gas-phase molecular spectroscopy and dynamics. With the recent extension of the FELIX facility by a Free Electron Laser for Intra-Cavity Experiments, FELICE, this type of research will have a bright future.

Another activity started in 1987 concerned the generation of and optical elements for extreme ultra violet radiation for lithography (EUVL). This activity was for a long time carried out in the Laser plasma and XUV optics (LPX) group in the plasma physics department. The group focused on generation of EUV radiation by laser induced plasma, on laser wake field acceleration and on multilayer optical components. Due to the steady growth of notably the last activity, the LPX group has turned into the nanolayer Surface and Interface Physics (nSI) department managed by Fred Bijkerk.

The mission of Rijnhuizen summarized

• To perform high-quality scientific research and to develop methods and techniques with that aim, in the field of:
  
  Fusion physics, comprises fundamental research aimed at controlled fusion in the framework of ITER and the European fusion research programme for which Rijnhuizen acts as the national home-base

Plasma Surface Interactions (PSI) performs in-house research in the field of low-temperature plasma physics and uses the experiments Magnum-PSI and Pilot-PSI, linear plasma generators capable of producing plasma with conditions similar to those expected in the ITER-divertor.

Generation and Utilization of TeraHertz radiation (GUTHz), comprising both in-house research and the exploitation of an international research facility, the free-electron laser for infrared experiments FELIX, for high-quality scientific research of external users.

Nanolayer Surface and Interface physics (nSI), including applications in plasma physics, and short-wavelength optics.
 

• To train graduate and undergraduate students and technicians
   
• To transfer high-level scientific and technical knowledge to the international research community, industry and society at large

See also our Annual Report 2009 (PDF)