FOM and RU sign agreement on relocation FELIX/FELICE
On July 7, the Foundation FOM and the Radboud University Nijmegen signed an agreement about the collaboration and relocation of the free electron lasers FELIX and FELICE from the FOM Institute for Plasma Physics to Nijmegen. The Radboud University is building a new underground laser lab, Free Electron Lasers for Infrared eXperiments (FELIX). Apart from a new terahertz free electron laser, it will feature the user facilities FELIX and FELICE. FOM employees working on the two free electron lasers received a hospitable welcome by the president of the executive board, toured the city they will be working in, and visited the construction site of their new laboratory. The relocation is planned for 2012.
Unique cluster of laboratories
In the new FELIX laboratory, the FOM free electron laser user facility FELIX/FELICE will take its place next to FLARE. This brand new free electron laser will produce far infrared radiation in complementary spectral region to that of FELIX and will produce first light near the end of this year. Researchers can also use the facilities at the nearby HFML (High Field Magnet Laboratory). The scanning probe microscopes of the Nijmegen NanoLab and NMR-set ups are close by. Together, these experiments form a unique European materials research facility.