With a groundbreaking ceremony, work began today on an extension to the Ernst
Ruska-Centre (ER-C) on the campus of Forschungszentrum
Jülich. Under the umbrella of the Jülich Aachen Research Alliance
(JARA), from 2010 the Centre for Microscopy and Spectroscopy with Electrons,
founded jointly by RWTH Aachen University and Forschungszentrum Jülich,
will be operating a unique electron microscope with a world-beating resolution
of 50 billionths of a millimetre. This will enable Jülich and Aachen to
maintain their position as the frontrunners in ultrahigh-resolution microscopy
worldwide.
With the new microscope known as PICO, materials scientists and those conducting
basic research from science and industry will be able to investigate atomic
structures that have previously been inaccessible. This will benefit, for example,
energy research or information technology. The Federal Government, the federal
state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the German Research Foundation will be providing
a total of roughly € 15 million for the new building and equipment.
Thomas Rachel (Member of the Bundestag and Parliamentary State Secretary in
the Federal Ministry of Education and Research) called the ER-C and the PICO
project a "shining example of how milestones can be achieved in Germany's
innovative competitiveness by cooperation between university and non-university
research." He said, "Researchers will be able to obtain completely
new insights into the structure of matter here in Jülich with one of the
most powerful microscopes in the world. As the Federal Research Ministry, we
will continue to support such excellent basic research in future since only
in this way can we secure Germany's innovative strength."
PICO (Advanced Picometre Resolution Project) will have a resolution of 50 picometres
(1 picometre = 10-12 metres). Using modern computer methods, not only individual
atoms but also atomic distances and atom displacements can also be measured
with a previously unknown accuracy of around one picometre - in other words
less than one hundredth of the diameter of an atom. At the same time, spectroscopic
analyses can be used to explain the nature of the atoms investigated and their
chemical bonding conditions. PICO is based on aberration-corrected electron
optics developed in the nineties with scientists from ER-C making a major contribution
to this development.With the foundation of the Ernst Ruska-Centre (ER-C) in
2004, Forschungszentrum Jülich and RWTH Aachen University have established
a centre of excellence for atomic-resolution electron microscopy and spectroscopy
on the highest international level.
ER-C develops scientific and technical infrastructure and methods for materials
research for today and tomorrow, and is simultaneously the first national user
centre for ultrahigh-resolution electron microscopy. It represents a partner
for the electron optics industry, which markets ER-C products under licence,
and it is a leading international institution in the field of research in the
subnanometre range. ER-C provides researchers from science and industry with
access to the most powerful electron microscopes currently available and guarantees
competent assistance.The Jülich Aachen Research Alliance, JARA for short,
is cooperation model between RWTH Aachen University and Forschungszentrum Jülich,
which is unique in Germany.
It overcomes the insularity of university and non-university research and teaching
in order to combine forces to work on complex issues with united research expertise
and capacities. In JARA, RWTH Aachen University and Forschungszentrum Jülich
specifically link research fields in which they can effectively complement their
individual strengths and create a world-class scientific environment according
to the motto: "focusing expertise, researching together, shaping the future".
Posted November 6th, 2009
