germany – EPICS Controls https://epics-controls.org Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System Thu, 10 Sep 2026 17:21:13 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1.3 https://epics-controls.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/cropped-EPICS_logo_ICON_v03-32x32.png germany – EPICS Controls https://epics-controls.org 32 32 10 Meter Interferometer Prototype Facility https://epics-controls.org/projects-archive/10-meter-interferometer-prototype-facility-aei/ Thu, 10 Sep 2026 17:17:47 +0000 https://epics-controls.org/?post_type=projects&p=41271 The 10 meter prototype facility at the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute, AEI) will host an ultra-low noise 10 meter interferometer and serve as a test bed for new gravitational-wave detector technology. It is being constructed as a combined effort of the AEI, the Institute for Gravitational [...]]]> The 10 meter prototype facility at the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute, AEI) will host an ultra-low noise 10 meter interferometer and serve as a test bed for new gravitational-wave detector technology. It is being constructed as a combined effort of the AEI, the Institute for Gravitational Physics at the Leibniz University Hannover, and the Cluster of Excellence QuantumFrontiers.

As a prototyping facility, its primary objectives are to develop, test and evaluate techniques and technologies to improve the performance of both current and future gravitational-wave detectors, and to train the next generation of scientists. The prototype plays a vital role in bridging the gap between proof-of-principle tabletop experiments and their implementation in full-scale gravitational-wave detectors.


Image: “View into the 10 meter prototype’s central vacuum tank.”; Source: Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute).

]]> Gravitational-Wave Detector GEO600 https://epics-controls.org/projects-archive/geo600/ Thu, 10 Sep 2026 16:44:10 +0000 https://epics-controls.org/?post_type=projects&p=41264 GEO600 is a ground-based interferometric gravitational wave detector located near Hannover, Germany. It is designed and operated by scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute), together with partners in the United Kingdom. It is funded by the Max Planck Society and the Science and Technology Facilities Council [...]]]> GEO600 is a ground-based interferometric gravitational wave detector located near Hannover, Germany. It is designed and operated by scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute), together with partners in the United Kingdom. It is funded by the Max Planck Society and the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC).

GEO600 is a key technology development center of the international gravitational-wave research community. Technologies developed and tested in the GEO project are now used in all large gravitational-wave detectors in the world (LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA).


Image “Aerial view of the German-British GEO600 detector south of Hannover, Germany.”; Source: Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute) / Milde Marketing.

]]> Experiments at GSI and FAIR https://epics-controls.org/projects-archive/experiments-at-gsi/ Tue, 18 Jun 2019 08:56:43 +0000 https://epics-controls.org/?post_type=projects&p=4680 GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung (GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research) operates a large-scale worldwide unique accelerator facility for heavy ions. Researchers from all over the world use the facility for experiments to gain new insights about the building blocks of matter and the evolution of the universe. In addition they develop new applications in medicine and technology.

FAIR [...]]]> GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung (GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research) operates a large-scale worldwide unique accelerator facility for heavy ions. Researchers from all over the world use the facility for experiments to gain new insights about the building blocks of matter and the evolution of the universe. In addition they develop new applications in medicine and technology.

FAIR — Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research
At GSI, FAIR is currently being built, an international accelerator facility for the research with antiprotons and ions which is being developed and constructed in cooperation with international partners. It is one of the world’s largest construction projects for international cutting-edge research.

Especially the nuclear and particle physics experiments currently at HADES, and in the future at FAIR: CBM, R3B and PANDA are using EPICS to control their experiment setups.

Find out more at: https://www.gsi.de/en/about_us.htm

Image: GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung GmbH, T.Middelhauve/GSI/FAIR

]]> Fritz Haber Institute Free-Electron Laser (FHI FEL) https://epics-controls.org/projects-archive/fhi-fel/ Mon, 13 Nov 2017 08:59:15 +0000 https://epics-controls.org/?post_type=projects&p=977 The free-electron laser (FEL) at the Fritz Haber Institute (FHI) generates intense pulses of infrared (IR) radiation of widely tunable wavelength (from 3 µm to 60 µm, as of September 2017).

Unlike conventional lasers, where the radiation is produced in a gas, liquid, or solid, in an FEL it is generated by an electron [...]]]> The free-electron laser (FEL) at the Fritz Haber Institute (FHI) generates intense pulses of infrared (IR) radiation of widely tunable wavelength (from 3 µm to 60 µm, as of September 2017).

Unlike conventional lasers, where the radiation is produced in a gas, liquid, or solid, in an FEL it is generated by an electron beam propagating freely through a vacuum tube. In a device called an undulator, strong magnetic fields of alternating polarity force the electrons to undergo a wiggling (undulating) motion, thereby causing the emission of radiation. The radiation wavelength can be tuned simply by varying the electron energy or the magnetic field strength. Before entering the undulator, however, the electrons must be accelerated to almost the speed of light, requiring a complex electron accelerator.

The FHI FEL at the Fritz Haber Institute has been operational since 2013.

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