During the last days of summer (August 25 – September 1), researchers from the Laboratory of Spectroscopy Rihards Ruska and Anatolijs Šarakovskis visited Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY) in Germany. The large-scale facilities are used to investigate the microstructures in all their diversity, including the interactions of tiny elementary particles, the behavior of novel nanomaterials, and life-sustaining biomolecular processes. DESY is one of the top accelerator facilities in the world.
Activities of this trip took place at P66 – Time-Resolved Luminescence Spectroscopy Beamline. Besides safety and operational protocols, methods of vacuum-UV spectroscopy were learned and used. Photoluminescence (PL), excitation spectra, and PL kinetics measurements of solid-state samples were performed. Among them were aluminum nitride ceramics and samples containing rare earth elements from the ISSP UL. Discoveries of new photoluminescence excitation bands were made along the way.
The involvement with the experiments highlighted the importance of interinstitutional collaboration while demonstrating the advantages of synchrotron radiation over conventional.
Established in 1959, DESY is one of the world’s leading accelerator centers with large-scale facilities to explore the microcosm in all its variety – from the interactions of tiny elementary particles and the behavior of new types of nanomaterials to biomolecular processes that are essential to life.
