On 23 June 2023, GANIL (Grand Accélérateur National d'Ions Lourds), one of the world's leading laboratories for research using ion beams, obtained building permission for the future DESIR experimental room, part-funded by an Equipex. The permit authorises the launch of construction work, starting with deep earthworks in July 2023, with the aim of taking delivery of the building in spring 2025. The first experiments are expected by 2027, providing the nuclear physics, fundamental interaction physics and nuclear astrophysics communities with a unique and internationally competitive research platform.
As part of the luminosity increase of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the first phase of the ATLAS experiment upgrade is coming to an end, before a restart planned for early 2022. To meet the requirements of physics in a highly radiative environment with a high particle flux, the two internal wheels of the muon spectrometer will be replaced by new devices: the New Small Wheels (NSW).
After several years of R&D and production, IRFU has just sent the last of the 32 detection modules that will be integrated into the NSW at CERN. This corresponds to the assembly of about 400 m2 of gas detectors based on Micromegas technology: a record!
After more than four years of research and development, design and manufacturing work, the MFT (Muon Forward Tracker), a new detector that will equip the ALICE experiment at the LHC, has seen its construction finalized and is currently under commissioning at CERN. In order to limit as far as possible the amount of material crossed by the particles, the conception of this detector has required the development of many innovative techniques and procedures, particularly in the integration of silicon sensors on flexible hybrid circuits called ladders, for which Irfu was responsible within the project. It took two years to manufacture the 500 ladders of the MFT, and a very long sequence of operations was the subject of numerous studies under the responsibility of the Irfu Antenna team at CERN. The production of these ladders has just been successfully completed and it is therefore time to make a short assessment
