Within the Laboratory for light element studies (LEEL, Laboratoire d'Etude des Eléments Légers), research topics are focused on light element behavior in materials for energy. Tasks range from material synthesis to charaterization. It is mainly performed with the help of the nuclear microprobe, a facility remarkably suited for monitoring light elements. Particularly, processes such as diffusion, precipitation and segregation can be addressed locally by the use of selected nuclear reactions, either through the use of isotopic tracers or by directly measuring the investigated elements. We apply these methods for materials dedicated to energy and technology (batteries & fuel cell materials, nuclear materials). In some cases, these studies are also applied to highly radioactive samples by using the radioactive beamline Casimir.
We also use ion microbeams to investigate processes generated by radiolysis such as cellular response to targeted irradiation. It is effectively observed that cellular response to irradiation is not limited to targeted cells, surrounding cells being also affected by energy deposition (so called bystander effect). This effect is particularly detectable at low doses and is generally probed with single ion irradiation setups.
All these topics are generally investigated in close collaboration with teams from CEA and CNRS.
LEEL researchers also act as local contacts at the nuclear microprobe for external users. Beam time and access is allocated by a selection committee.
Contact : Hicham KHODJA
