Research Unit for Analysis by Nuclear Reactions
RESEARCH THEMES
The research and teaching activities fold up around three topics:
- Materials sciences
- Ion-Matter interactions
- Life sciences.
We develop very high-technicity and value-added materials. We synthetize 1 and 2D materials by modifying their surface or interface by ion implantation or assisted plasma deposition. We characterize them according to their surface properties (hydrophobicity, tribology…), interface properties (diffusion, graded optical index…) and volume properties (phase or nanocrystal synthesis with interesting optical, electronic and mechanic properties). This activity is supported by the high and low energy ion beam implantation and the implementation of a Monte Carlo growth simulation software.
The study of ion-matter interactions is the second topic in fundamental and applied research. Nuclear reactions which occur in the heart of stars (in the CNO cycle for instance) are the same as those used for materials analysis. Not only the efficient nuclear reactions mesure sections involved in astrophysics but also the knowledge about incident ions stopping section are of interest for materials analysis. Moreover, nuclear and atomic analysis techniques are improved and tested daily to better answer the growing needs of research and industry for surfaces and interfaces characterization.
Finally, we put all the acquired knowledge in the two aforementioned topics to the service of life sciences. With the help of a multidisciplinary team, we study cell response to photon or particle irradiation theoretically as well as experimentally. The UNamur particle accelerator (Tandetron Linear Accelerator - ALTAÏS) and the RX irradiator enable in-vitro irradiations of different types of cells with protons, He+ and Li+ ions, carbon ions (hadrontherapy) or photons. We are also able to synthesize nanoparticles and study the response to their exhibition concomitantly or not with irradiation (radiosensitizers). Numerous experimental methods, among which RMN spectroscopy, enable to evaluate the effects of radiation and are supported by simulations involving the MCNPx and GEANT4 codes.
A spin-off (ICS – Innovative Coating Solutions) was created to promote research results linked to the deposition of thin films on 3D complex components.
permanent Members
