Aifira: An ion beam facility for multidisciplinary research

During the last decade, the CENBG (Centre d’Études Nucléaires de Bordeaux Gradignan) commissioned a new facility called AIFIRA (Applications Interdisciplinaires des Faisceaux d’ions en Région Aquitaine). It allowed the development of a multidisciplinary activity based on the “in-house” expertise of CENBG in ion beam analysis. The great flexibility offered by the five beam lines confers a lot of possibilities for chemical analysis and nuclear physics. Indeed, not only the macrobeam and the external beam lines provide the full set of IBA techniques for routine sample analysis but an additional beam line is devoted to the production of monoenergetic neutrons through the interaction of the incoming ion with selected targets. In addition, the two high-resolution microbeam lines are used for chemical analyses, 2D/3D imaging, and targeted cell irradiation. Besides, the combination of the nanobeam line flexibility, the uniqueness of the micro-irradiation design completed by the internal CENBG expertise confers a great specificity to AIFIRA in biomedical field. After a detailed technical overview of the platform, the article focuses on the two high-resolution lines as they tap most of the activity. Thus a quick overview of the most significant results concerning biomedical samples is proposed in order to highlight the analytical possibilities of AIFIRA microbeam lines. A summary of the development status of the micro-irradiation line is also done.