CEA News sept. 2007

Transcription

CEA News sept. 2007

4
AROUND
THE WORLD
© CEA/Lesénechal
/// Global Nuclear Energy Partnership
/// ESARDA Conference
/// President of the Chinese Academy
of Sciences visits the CEA
/// Speech on Nuclear Power in
European Parliament
/// Start of construction work for JHR
16
ADVANCED
PARTITIONING
SOLUTIONS FOR
RADIOACTIVE WASTE
© Artechnique/CEA
/// Review of 15 years of research
/// Partitioning
/// 2006: the new law
8
NANOSCIENCES
UNDERSTANDING THE
NEW LAWS OF PHYSICS
© P. Stroppa/CEA
/// Nanostructured matter
/// Quantum effects
/// How are nano-objects designed?
/// The toxicity of nano-objects
/// MINATEC ®
24
SCIENTIFIC
HIGHLIGHTS
© P. Stroppa/CEA
/// Dynamics of the Earth’s
magnetic field reproduced
in laboratory
/// XEDIX : 100 TB of
data screened
CEA News is edited by the French Atomic Energy Commission – Communication
Division – Headquarters – 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette cedex - France - www.cea.fr
Publication Director: Xavier Clément
Contributors to this edition: Claire Abou, Anne-Marie Birac, Patrick Cappe de Baillon,
Olivier Caron, Xavier Clément, Elisabeth De Lavergne, Thierry Ethvignot,
Didier Kechemair, Florence Klotz, Lucia Le Clech, Brigitte Raffray
[email protected]
Graphic design: MAYA press - www.mayapress.net
Cover photo: Carbon nanotube models in front of a nanotube “mat” viewed
under the microscope. © CEA
CEA NEWS 2 September 2007
/// Atlas, accelerating
detection
/// First complete simulation
of PET imaging scan
/// Superdoped silicon:
an excellent conductor
30
31
BOOK REVIEW
EXHIBITIONS
FOREWORD
Nuclear Energy’s Responsible,
Sustainable Future
Welcome to this second issue of CEA NEWS, the international publication of the French
Atomic Energy Commission. CEA is committed to providing in-depth but wide ranging
coverage of its activities ands achievements. We hope that this issue conforms to this goal.
© L.Godart/CEA
Since our last issue, momentous events have taken place in our country including the
election of a new administration and the establishment of a new government. One of the
new government’s priorities is a determined undertaking to expand the research effort in
our country and to reform the governance and operations of universities. We at CEA
welcome this development, which corresponds to our deeply held view that partnership
with a strong and reactive academic sector can only be of benefit to an institution such as
ours, that thrives on cross-fertilization with our domestic and international partners in
both the academic and industrial sectors. We are all the more convinced that our mission
is to contribute to the building of the knowledge-based, high-valued added economy that
must rest on a deliberate as well as unrelenting effort in both fundamental and applied
research. This, one might add, is also a key to nurturing the international partnerships that
we at CEA value as a core component of our strategy.
Mr. Olivier Caron
Director of International Relations
In the field of energy, which remains at the forefront
of our priorities, CEA is committed to partaking in
national and international efforts and undertakings
that will foster the responsible and sustainable drive
toward expanded recourse to nuclear energy. If we
are to offer humanity reliable and cost-effective access
to this energy source, it is of prime import that new
nuclear programmes – as well as mature or
expanding ones – adopt or continue to uphold the
highest safety and spent fuel management standards.
It is an economic requirement as well as a civic duty
and moral responsibility to see to it that nuclear
expansion does not result in the unwarranted
accumulation and dissemination of spent fuels. A
fundamental rethink of security and nonproliferation tenets are in order to address this
challenge successfully. We in France pride ourselves
on having pioneered an approach to the fuel cycle
that is precisely geared toward rising up to the
magnitude of the issue. And we are glad to see that
our major international partners are now willing to
reengage on the closed fuel cycle issue. This is a
heartening testimony to the virtues of patient and
steadfast policy development, based on confidence in
science and an acute awareness of the need to engage
public opinion and policy-makers. On this optimistic
note, I invite you to enjoy agreeable and thoughtprovoking reading while awaiting our next issue. I
AroundTheWorld
Global Nuclear Energy Partnership – Joint statement
by France, China, Japan, USA and Russia
potential, to seek partnerships with
countries wishing to access nuclear
energy and to increase its use. The
goal is to offer spent fuel reprocessing
and recycling solutions without
requiring domestic facilities to be
built. This will complement the
IAEA's efforts to fine-tune its preproduction fuel service supply
guarantee mechanisms.
Research and development into advanced cycle technologies
and fast reactors to burn actinides is also a subject of consultation
and coordination as part of the Generation IV International
Forum (GIF), currently chaired by France.
© A. Gonin/CEA
Representatives of five nations (France, China,
Japan, USA and Russia) and the International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) were invited
by Samuel Bodman, US Secretary of Energy
to a Ministerial Conference on the Global
Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) in
Washington on May 21, 2007. The French
delegation was led by Alain Bugat, Chairman
of the CEA. A joint statement was issued at
the end of the conference.
The GNEP is a US initiative to kick-start nuclear energy once
again. On a domestic level, it aims to close off the fuel cycle and
ensure large-scale reprocessing of spent fuel. Its international
aims are to prevent the spread of technology that has proliferation
S E C U R I T Y A N D N O N - P R O F I L E R AT I O N
CEA and IRSN at the ESARDA conference
The CEA and IRSN both took part in the 29th conference of ESARDA, the European
Safeguards Research & Development Association from May 22 to 24 in Aix-en-Provence.
This association was established in 1969 and draws together research laboratories,
industrial operators, inspection bodies and government ministers from the member
states of the European Union. ESARDA's goal is to facilitate R&D cooperation between
the various players involved in nuclear material security controls.
Around three hundred experts in the field of nuclear security and non-proliferation met
for three days to review the control of nuclear materials in the European Union and
around the world.
Representatives of organizations such as the IAEA1, ABACC2 and INMM3 are regular
participants. Olli Heinonen, Deputy Director General of the IAEA, Roland Schenkel,
Director General of the Joint Research Centre (JCR – European Commission) and
Dominique Ristori, Deputy Director General of the Directorate-General for Energy
and Transport (DGTREN – European Commission) all spoke at the conference.
Olivier Caron, CEA Director of International Relations and France's governor on the
IAEA board, spoke about French policies in the areas of nuclear security and compliance
with international treaties. Emmanuel Sartorius, Senior Defence and Security Official
in charge of domestic control of nuclear materials, spoke about control issues in France.
Video tracking : A digital camera may be attached to the radiation monitor for video capture and identification.
1. IAEA: International Atomic Energy Agency, responsible for the NPT inspection provisions.
2. ABACC: Brazilian- Argentine Agency for Accounting and Control of nuclear materials (regional control agency).
3. INMM : Institute of Nuclear Materials Management (USA).
Two types of controls apply to nuclear
materials in Europe: first, security
controls as instituted by the Euratom
Treaty (effective since 1958), and second,
nuclear weapons non-proliferation
controls (NPT, effective since 1970). The
inspection provisions in both treaties
cover the full range of controls in order
to ensure that members comply with
nuclear proliferation restraints. The
association's work brings the field's
many experts and practitioners together
to discuss relevant general topics and
detailed issues that relate to particular
types of nuclear facilities. The
association also promotes discussion
with nuclear operators and researchers
to facilitate cooperation in the area of
international controls, thus ensuring that
treaties are applied as comprehensively
as possible and that new control
technologies continue to be developed.
AroundTheWorld
Alain Bugat, Chairman of the CEA,
Catherine Bréchignac, President of the
CNRS, Arnold Migus, Director General
of the CNRS and Lu Yongxiang,
President of the Chinese Academy
of Sciences, have inked an agreement
to set up a Franco-Chinese international
associate particle physics laboratory,
the France-China Particle Physics
Laboratory (FCPPL). This agreement
formalises a longstanding partnership
between France and China in this field,
officially recognising the joint work of
more than 250 researchers, engineers
and students from the two countries.
The France-China Particle Physics
Laboratory (FCPPL) has been set up
as part of a key strategy of the CNRS
IN2P3 organization (French national
institute for nuclear and particle
physics), consolidating its links with
various Asian countries over the last
two years. The institute works with
Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, and
particularly with China's rapidly
expanding research sector. Several
dozen scientists in France and China
are already collaborating to study
particle physics, astroparticles and
cosmology.
© P. Stroppa/CEA
A NEW FRANCO-CHINESE PARTICLE
PHYSICS LABORATORY
This agreement sets up a framework
for establishing a genuine FrancoChinese scientific community, with joint
management, a joint steering committee
and regular conferences. Many Chinese
researchers have already been hosted
by French laboratories, and the program
will also allow French researchers to
work in Chinese laboratories.
Bilateral cooperation between CEA and Slovenia:
Call for projects
A second call for projects has been issued under the agreement executed on
March 27, 2006 between the CEA and the Slovenian Minister for Higher Education,
Science and Technology. The topics selected for 2007 are the following: life sciences,
new energy technologies (fuel cells, biomass, etc.), new materials (catalytic materials,
nanomaterials, etc.), nuclear energy (material ageing, etc.) and lasers.
The goal of these one-year projects is to strengthen relations between the CEA
and Slovenian laboratories and to establish new joint ventures. This agreement
provides an official framework for the work already in progress with the Republic
of Slovenia. It shows the way to new areas for cooperation and strengthens
current partnerships by contributing to the structures of European bilateral
nuclear research in the context of the 7th Framework Programme.
The projects to receive backing were chosen on July 10, 2007 as part of the
second Sterling Committee meeting that was held in Marcoule.
Physics
New scientific
interest group –
“Physics of the
two infinities”
Man has always sought to answer fundamental
questions on the origins and evolution of
the Universe. What is it made up of? What are
the basic laws that govern it? What is its future?
Pushing back the boundaries of knowledge
and technology in these areas requires deeper
investigation into phenomena occurring both
on an infinitely small scale (elementary particles
and quantum mechanics) and an infinitely
large scale (cosmology and general relativity).
These fascinating and closely related physics
fields are the focus of the scientific interest
group “Physics of the two infinities” (P2i) which
was officially launched on 30 March 2007 and
draws together 19 laboratories at the CNRS
(National Centre for Scientific Research), CEA
(Atomic Energy Commission), the Paris
Observatory and various higher education
bodies (Pierre and Marie Curie University
Paris 6), Paris Diderot University (Paris 7),
Paris-Sud University (Paris 11) and the École
Polytechnique.
P2i has set itself the goals of achieving
international recognition, increasing
coordination in research and boosting the
dynamism and resources of teams working in
subatomic physics and cosmology in the Paris
region. Particle physicists, nuclear physicists,
theorists and astrophysicists will pool their
equipment as part of the consortium. The aim
is also to promote
skill-sharing in order
to tackle the major
scientific challenges
laid down by
nature, such as the
exploration of dark
matter and dark
energy, which are
poorly understood,
but together account
for more than 95%
of the Universe's
energy density.
© CEA/Dapnia
AroundTheWorld
Lu Yongxiang,
visits the CEA
© D.Marchand/CEA
He then had a meeting with
Bernard Bigot, High Commissioner
for Atomic Energy.
During his trip to France, Lu
Yongxiang, President of the
Chinese Academy of Sciences1
and Vice-Chairman of the People's
National Congress visited Saclay
on April 11, 2007. He was
received by Yves Caristan, Director
of Physical Sciences, André Syrota,
Director of Life Sciences and
Olivier Caron, Director of
International Relations, and was
shown the latest developments
in the CEA's work, witnessing at
first hand the dynamic working
environment at Saclay. Mr. Lu's
visit included Soleil, the
third generation synchrotron
inaugurated last December, and
NeuroSpin, the new intense-field
nuclear magnetic resonance
cerebral imaging (MRI) center.
During the visit, CEA Chairman
Alain Bugat signed two agreements
on behalf of the CEA in the
presence of Zhao Jinjun, Chinese
Ambassador to France. The first
was an agreement to set up an
international associate laboratory
involving the CEA, CNRS and the
Chinese Academy of Sciences
focusing on high-energy physics,
and the second was an
amendment to the agreement
between the CEA and the Chinese
Academy of Sciences on cosupervision of research projects.
Mr. Lu emphasized the importance
of the CEA's collaboration to the
Chinese Academy of Sciences, and
described it as strategic. He
suggested instituting a yearly forum
to promote exchange between
researchers from the two bodies.
Start of
construction work
for Jules Horowitz
research reactor
Construction work on the Jules Horowitz research reactor
(JHR) was launched by François Loos, Minster for Industry,
on March 19, 2007. Other figures who attended the ceremony,
along with 500 other guests, included CEA Chairman Alain
Bugat, Philippe Pradel, CEA Director of Nuclear Energy,
Serge Durand, Director of the Cadarache research site and
representatives of French industrial partners such as EDF
and Areva.
The goal of the Jules Horowitz Reactor is to develop and test
new fuels and materials to be used in production reactors
now and in the future, with a particular focus on Generation IV.
In addition to the applications for power production, JHR
will supply 25% of Europe's requirements for radioelements
used in nuclear medicine and could contribute to the
production of high-performance silicon
for industrial and electronic
components. The reactor is due
for commissioning in 2014.
©CEA
President of the Chinese
Academy of Sciences,
1. The Chinese Academy of Sciences is
China's largest national research
organization, with 58,000 staff.
Synergies
New “Climate-Environment-Society” scientific interest group
The work will focus on the coordinated
development of climate models, observation
systems and tools for effecting change on
the interfaces between climate and society.
With the support of the Minister for Higher
Education and Research and the Minister of
Ecology and Sustainable Development, the
research group will enjoy international stature,
attracting foreign researchers and organizing conferences and
communication campaigns.
http://gisclimat.ipsl.jussieu.fr/
© P. Bazoge/ CEA
The newly established “Climate-EnvironmentSociety” is a joint venture between the CNRS,
CEA, the École Polytechnique, University
of Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines,
University Pierre and Marie Curie and
ADEME1. Its goal is to synergize experts’ skill
sets to study climate change and its
consequences for society and the environment.
It will create solid links between researchers in complementary disciplines
– climatology, ecology, medicine, economics and the social sciences –
and promote the emergence of a more precise description of the
interactions between climate change and future societal choices.
1. The French Environment and Energy Management Agency
AroundTheWorld
European Parliament:
Speech by Oliver Caron
on Nuclear Power
© Champion/CEA
Olivier Caron, CEA Director of
International Relations and France's
governor on the IAEA Board was
invited to speak the European Energy
Forum1, a discussion group led by
British MEP Giles Chichester, former
Chairman of the European Parliament
ITRE Committee2.
Mr. Caron's speech focused on the
worldwide renewal of interest in
nuclear energy. He described the
world's current energy challenges
(securing supply, combating climate
change, remaining competitive) and
demonstrated the vital place of this
energy source. He highlighted the
encouraging fact that discussions are
underway within European
institutions to develop a
comprehensive energy policy across
the European Union.
After the speech, a discussion that
included the fifteen or so MEPs in
attendance (including representatives
of the EU’s new member states)
confirmed Parliament's interest in
energy issues, including nuclear
power in particular. There were
7 th European
Framework
Program for
Research and
Development
discussions between the Committee
and various MEPs on the question
of nuclear safety and the requirement
laid down during accession
negotiations that some power stations,
particularly in Bulgaria, be shut down.
The issue of waste was brought up
repeatedly. Mr. Caron took the
opportunity to explain that technical
solutions do exist and, referring to
the French process, showed that waste
processing is now an issue for political
decision-making.
1. More info:
http://www.europeanenergyforum.eu/
2. Industry, Telecoms, Research et Energy.
© DR
FRANCO-JAPANESE DISCUSSIONS ON STORAGE
The 5th “information exchange” between EDF, CEA and CRIEPI (Japanese Central
Research Institute of Electric Power Industry) was held in the Tokyo suburb of Abiko.
Hervé Lagrave, high-level radwaste storage manager and Guillaume Ranc, expert in
concrete structures, presented the most recent results from the Department of Fuel
Cycle Technology on spent fuel storage, chiefly
focusing on heat and air flows within storage
facilities, the mechanical behavior of structures at
temperature and the confinement of containers during
accidents (earthquake or drop accident). These joint
ventures should all be validated at the Management
Committee meeting in September 2007. The trip also
provided an opportunity to visit the Abiko center’s laboratories, which are working on
seal testing, dynamic characterization of concrete and chloride source terms; the
Akagi site, looking at heating within concrete containers, metal container drop
accidents and the transmission and use of electricity; the JAPC spent fuel dry
storage facility and the Tokai-Daini Electricity museum.
The 7th Framework Program was officially launched
on December 22, 2006 and is the main research
funding instrument for the period 2007-2013. “Its
goal is to consolidate the European Research Area,”
points out Claude Ayache, Director for European
Affairs (CEA's International Relations Division),
“and it follows directly in the footsteps of the previous
framework program. There is a concerted focus on
a limited number of priorities, with coordination at
all levels, among researchers, institutions and State
research policies.The aim is not just to provide funding,
but to continue to structure research throughout
Europe research.” Nevertheless, new ambitions
are set out in the 7th framework programme for
research and development, both in financial and
political terms. The budget is up by a yearly
average of 60% compared with the 6th framework
program, with a total envelope of € 54.5 billion
over the period 2007-2013. There are new
challenges on the research side too. “The biggest
of the challenges,” says Mr. Ayache, “is setting up
the European Research Council. The aim is to promote
scientific excellence by funding very high-level research,
pushing back the boundaries of knowledge. Establishing
exploratory research as a major factor for future
competitiveness is a first within the European
Community. Other new aspects of the 7th framework
program include a boost for industrial collaborations,
with new forms of public-private partnerships,
European Technology Partnerships and Joint
Technology Initiatives (JTIs). Finally, there are two
new research priorities, security and space.”
TWO NEW CEA COUNSELORS IN EUROPE:
- Alain Régent in London
- Claude Sainte-Catherine in Helsinki
Pierre-Yves Cordier replaces Dominique Ochem
after his four-year stint, in Tokyo
Please refer to the back cover for contact information.
NANOSCIENCES
UNDERSTANDING
T
rying to manipulate nano-objects,
understanding the behavior of finely
divided matter, exploring quantum
effects: these are some of the
challenges facing fundamental
research in nanosciences.
At the level of atoms and molecules,
there is a whole world to explore:
the nanoworld, christened thus in
NEW LAWS
OF PHYSICS
Scanning
Electron
Microscopy
(SEM) is
among the
tools
frequently
used in
nanoscience.
© C. Fuseau/CEA
Stimulated by the
race towards
miniaturization in
the microelectronics
industry, research
in Nanosciences is
conducted at two
departments within
the Physical
Sciences Division:
the Drecam 1 in
Saclay and the
DRFMC 2 in Grenoble.
This involves
disciplinary fields at
the crossroads of
Chemistry, Physics
and Biology.
Activities at Saclay
in the spotlight.
reference to the nanometer, a
billionth of a meter. Observing
atoms and molecules individually
became possible at the start of the
1980s thanks to two inventions:
the scanning tunneling microscope
for materials that conduct electricity
and its derivative, the atomic force
microscope for insulating materials.
These instruments are used both
to observe surfaces and to
manipulate atoms or molecules.
Pooling the talents of chemists,
physicists and biologists has played
a decisive role in the creation of
electronic devices and innovative
materials.
© CEA
TOPICS TO EXPLORE
/// Nanostructured matter
/// Quantum effects
/// How are nano-objects designed?
/// Toxicity of nano-objects
/// MINATEC ®
THE ADVANTAGES OF
NANOSTRUCTURED MATTER
Pilot
installation
of nanopowder
synthesis
using the inflow pyrolysis
method.
How do the properties of particles change when their dimensions
go from the micrometric to the nanometric scale?
A more radiation-resistant
ceramic
A ceramic is a material obtained by heat
treatment (sintering) from powders generally
of micrometric size. A team specializing in
laser pyrolysis has developed an original
technique for producing chemical composites
in powders of calibrated sizes. According to
recent experiments, ceramics made from
nanometric powders produced in a laboratory
are more resistant to radiation than traditional
ceramics. In both cases, it is possible to
see the grains, separated by grain boundaries,
at different scales. Under the effect of
radiation, defects appear in the crystalline
organization of the grains and tend to merge
until they hit an obstacle: the boundary. It
seems that, in nanostructured ceramics, the
appearance of radiation damage is delayed
because the web of particles is a thousand
times finer. From the “materials” point of
view, these ceramic nanopowders could
be used in the composition of composite
materials for the nuclear reactors of the future.
A larger active surface area
Another example of a divided (or
nanostructured) material is the platinum in
fuel cells. The chemical reactions that produce
the current in the fuel cell are accelerated
(or catalyzed) by this metal when the reagents
“meet”, coming into contact with it. The use
of fine platinum particles makes it possible
to reduce the quantity of metal required.
The size of these particles varies from a
few nanometers to tens of nanometers.
Researchers are proposing to replace them
with particles of a perfectly calibrated size.
A “coating” of organic molecules prevents
the particles from forming clusters and means
that the distance between metal cores can
be finely regulated by the choice of grafted
molecules. From the perspective of
application to fuel cells, the electrical
conductivity of these objects can be optimized
according to their size. The icing on the cake
is that combining these particles with carbon
nanotubes would make the catalysis sites
more accessible to the reagents and improve
efficiency even more.
© A. Gonin/CEA
Understanding the effect of size on the
physical or chemical properties of particles
is essential in nanosciences. The particles
can be separated out individually in a powder
state or bonded to solid materials. At the
frontier between science and technology,
researchers are shuttling back and forth
between synthesizing materials, conducting
experiments and performing numerical
simulations and interpretations.
A choice of colors
One particular property of semiconductors
is photoluminescence, which provides a
spectacular illustration of the size effect.
When they are lit, these materials give out
some of the energy they receive by emitting
light. The color (or energy) of this light is
determined by the chemical nature and size
of the semiconductor. If the specimen size
is reduced to a few nanometers, there is
constant variation in this color: the energy
of the emitted light increases as the size of
the object decreases. The behavior of the
nanocrystal, also known as a quantum dot,
seems to gradually approach that of an
isolated atom. In particular, silicon
nanocrystals, still produced by laser pyrolysis,
could act as in vivo tracers for the diagnosis
and treatment of diseases.
SIZE GUIDE
0.1 nm
atom
1 nm
molecule
10 nm
protein
> PYROLYSIS: chemical decomposition
through the action of heat alone.
1. Department of Research on Condensed Matter, Atoms and Molecules
2. Condensed Matter Fundamental Research Department.
© CEA
100 nm DNA
© Artechnique/CEA
OBSERVING AND USING
QUANTUM EFFECTS
On the scale of atoms, electrons and photons, interactions
between these entities are governed by quantum physics.
This opens up new perspectives for nano-objects.
© CEA
WHAT IS
A QUANTUM STATE?
Much more than a binary piece of
information, a “quantum state” is defined
as a set of several simultaneously possible
situations, each with a very specific
probability of occurrence. An experimental
measurement fixes the quantum state in a
single one of these situations. To evaluate
the probability attached to the situation, the
measurement has to be repeated a very
large number of times.
Playing with electron spin
Giant magnetoresistance (GMR) manifests
itself as an increase in electricity conduction
in an electronic device when a magnetic field
is applied to it. This effect is explained on
a quantum scale by electron spin, the
electron's intrinsic rotation.
The device consists of an assembly of two
layers of metal with different magnetisms,
separated by a very thin insulating layer
(of the order of a nanometer). In one of
the magnetic layers, the spin of the electrons
is fixed by the prior state of magnetization
of the material and in the other, it is subject
both to the coupling with the first layer and
to an external magnetic field. The degree
of resistance to the passage of current, which
acts as a sensor, depends on the electron spin
configuration in the layers it is crossing: there
is less resistance when the magnetizations
are aligned than when they are opposed.
GMR can be used to read (and write)
information in the first magnetic layer or
to measure a magnetic field.
Discovered in 1998, GMR is today used
on an industrial scale in the hard disks of
our computers. The property is also exploited
in highly sensitive sensors, one of which
should be able to detect magnetic fields as
tiny as those resulting from neuron activity.
Regulating the electron ballet
How do you describe the passage of an electric
current through a metal conductor? Imagine
a set of relays in which an atom (for instance
copper) “gives” one of its electrons to a
neighboring atom and “receives” another in
>>>
“
Our collaboration
with companies in
many sectors, and
these applications, are
nurturing the most
fundamental research
into magnetism.
”
Myriam Pannetier-Lecœur
Physical Sciences
Division/Drecam/Saclay
© Artechnique/CEA
As one of the dimensions of a device
approaches the size of an atom, the quantum
effects inherent in microscopic physics appear.
They are apparent, most notably, through
discontinuous energy transfers, in “packets”
known as quanta. These phenomena, invisible
on a large scale, open up potentially very
interesting paths for exploration. This is why
researchers are making an effort to observe
and use quantum effects in reasonably “large”
experimental devices.
© F. Vigouroux/CEA
NANOSCIENCES
Measurement
set devoted to
studying spinpolarized
currents in
magnetic
nanostructures.
Fundamental research
experiment on magnetism
based on giant
magnetoresistance
© C. Dupont/CEA
ELECTRONS
TO SEE THE NANOWORLD
Microscope resolution is limited by the diffraction
of light crossing the specimen. This becomes
even more of a problem as the wavelength of the
light increases. Hence the idea of replacing
photons with electrons, which have a shorter
wavelength. In transmission electron microscopy
(TEM), a flow of electrons is passed through the
specimen and detected to form the image.
Resolution can go below a nanometer.
Meanwhile, the scanning electron microscope
(SEM) uses secondary electrons emitted by the
specimen when it is bombarded with electrons,
on the same side as the source. This time the
resolution is of the order of a nanometer.
MICROSCOPES THAT
CAN “SEE” ATOMS
AND MOLECULES
How do we “see” the atoms and molecules
in a solid individually? The “eye” of these
microscopes is a tip that scans the surface
to be analyzed by gliding over it at a fixed
height of the order of a few atom
diameters (a few tenths of a nanometer).
This distance is adjusted by very shortrange interactions between the last atom
right on the tip and the surface.
“
With the benefit of experience,
theoretical formalism has been pushed
out in favor of intuition and inventiveness.
”
© CEA-LEM
Christian Glattli
Physical Sciences Division/Drecam/Saclay
In the scanning tunneling microscope (STM)
this interaction, quantum in nature, is
manifested by a weak electric current that
flows between the atom on the tip and the
surface. This current rapidly increases as the
tip gets closer to the surface. In the atomic
force microscope (AFM), similar forces to
those that make atoms bond in a molecule
are at work between the atom on the tip and
the atoms on the surface. At even shorter
distances, forces of repulsion predominate
between the atomic nuclei. Subject to these
antagonistic forces, the atom spontaneously
tries to remain at a fixed distance.
In both cases, a computer records either
the current or the force, and keeps the tip
at a constant distance from the surface. The
relief “felt” by the tip can be reconstituted
in this way with resolution of less than a
nanometer, giving the user an atom-byatom picture of the material being studied.
return. Under normal conditions, electrons
barely move more than about thirty nanometers
before experiencing a collision that “erases”
their quantum effects. To observe the effects,
it is necessary to reduce the number of
collisions or to thin out the electron population
and extend the free trajectory of the electrons.
This is why some researchers have chosen
to study the interface between two
semiconducting layers1, working at very low
temperatures to attenuate the thermal agitation
of the atoms. The electrons can therefore
spread out almost freely in a plane, typically
over about ten thousand nanometers. The
apparatus also has electrodes that control
the opening of a passage for the electrons, a
few hundred nanometers wide.
What is observed? As the passage opens, the
conductance of the system, i.e. its ability to
conduct current, increases in steps! These
steps correspond to the multiples of a
fundamental constant known as a conductance
quantum – another quantum effect! These
effects can also be seen in metals when two
electrodes are linked by just one or more
atoms. What is even more extraordinary is
that the phenomenon generates almost no
spurious background noise! These “new”
laws apply to nanocomponents such as carbon
nanotubes, which transmit four conductance
quanta – no more and no less…
1. Made from gallium arsenide (AsGa) and gallium arsenide
and aluminum (AsGaAl) respectively. The density of
moving electrons is governed by the dopant concentration.
NANOSCIENCES
HOW ARE NANO-OBJECTS DESIGNED?
The carbon nanotube, the material most emblematic of the nanosciences,
is “coated” with molecules to massively increase its powers.
It is now possible to “coat” the nanotubes,
which simply means depositing molecules
on their surface, attaching them solidly to
the carbon atoms, or even inserting them
inside the cylinders.
The “coating” can make it possible for the
nanotube to attach to a prepared surface, a
bit like Velcro®. More generally, combining
nanotubes with molecules with specific
electronic and optical properties is at the
heart of research into molecular electronics.
The first challenge is sorting the bare
nanotubes, because they are a mixture of
metallic objects and semiconductors. The
second is that nanotubes are not soluble, so
in their ordinary state they cannot be
incorporated into a solvent, which would
Some researchers are working on combining
nano-objects such as DNA strands with
carbon nanotubes to make T-shaped
structures similar to those of a transistor.
A kind of molecular Scotch® tape needs to
be devised to bind the nanotube and DNA
together using real chemical bonds. In this
case, nanotubes are being used because of
their ability to be connected to electrodes.
DNA could also be used as a “pattern” to
guide the spontaneous assembly of carbon
nanotube structures, along the same lines
as biological processes.
FROM NANOTUBES
TO NANORINGS
It sometimes happens that the
unexpected texture of the
chemical “coatings” of nanotubes
inspires researchers, leading to
the creation of some surprising
nano-objects – nanorings, for
example! Observation of ring
structures under a transmission
electron microscope led them to
include reactive functions in the
initial coating to stiffen the rings
and detach them from the nanotube. These nanorings could carry anti-cancer molecules
to diseased cells. This drug vectorization project is being carried out by a team from
Divison of Life Sciences in partnership with Laboratoire Servier. Another application, with
a more fundamental aim, is to use the nanorings as a substitute cell membrane for
studying proteins in cells. These proteins degrade as soon as they are removed from
their environment.
© A. Gonin/CEA
Preparing the bare nanotubes
Nanotubes and DNA
Molecular “coatings”:
endless creativity
© Motorola/CEA
Self-assembled carbon nanotubes on a surface of
functionalized silica, connected electronically via gold wires.
© CEA
be highly practical for many types of
manipulation. First it is necessary to “graft”
organic molecules onto the nanotube that
are capable of clinging to the nanotube's
carbon atoms on the one hand, and giving
it the required solubility properties on the
other. One technique is to render soluble
only the semiconductor nanotubes, so they
can be sifted out. Once they are in a solution,
the nanotubes can be diluted to obtain the
desired rate of deposit on a surface.
The discovery of the carbon nanotube in
1991 opened up a vast field of study in
nanoelectronics. It is a long cylinder made
from one or more rolled up sheets of carbon.
The diameter of a carbon nanotube varies
from a few nanometers for single-sheet tubes
to about a hundred nanometers for those
made from multiple sheets. What are their
benefits? They are easily mass-produced
to the point of becoming a commercial
product. With a particular geometry, they
can be semiconductors. Being much more
stable than isolated molecules, they are easy
to connect to electrodes. In 1998, the first
transistor made with carbon nanotubes
appeared.
We will now look at some of the stages in
the fabrication of nano-objects from carbon
nanotubes.
© F. Vigouroux/CEA
Preparing
impermeability tests
for nanoparticles in
protection equipment
(masks and gloves), as
part of the European
Nanosafe2 project.
EVALUATING THE TOXICITY
OF NANO-OBJECTS
© CEA
Several CEA laboratories are participating in national and
European programs to evaluate the risks from nanoparticles.
How is their impact on health and the environment measured?
> TRANSISTOR:
component that
performs the functions
of an amplifier,
modulator or
interrupter of
electrical current.
> DNA:
deoxyribonucleic acid,
an essential
component of
chromosomes, and the
physical carrier of
heredity.
On a small scale, matter divided into
nanoparticles has a larger surface area than
ordinary matter. This could exacerbate its
toxicity. Furthermore, nanoparticles have a
natural tendency to form groups of
micrometric size. Before a toxicological study
is carried out, it is necessary to know the
chemical nature of the particles, their structure
and the physical and chemical state of their
constituents. Finding out this information
requires specialist skills and highly specialized
analysis methods. When it comes to studying
nanoparticles in suspension in the air, there
is a particular problem: how can they be
isolated or distinguished from ordinary
atmospheric pollution?
What effect do they have on
animal cells and bacteria?
Various teams are trying to assess the toxicity
of nano-objects for humans using in vitro
animal cell models. The aim is to study the
biological effects on the organs they reach
following inhalation or ingestion (lungs, liver)
or following their passage through the body's
natural barriers (kidneys).
Two effects are being studied: the toxicity for
the whole cell on the one hand and for the
genes it contains on the other. Can
nanoparticles pass through the cell
membrane? Does the cell remain alive? Is its
genetic material affected?
Researchers are also interested in what
happens in the environment to nanoparticles
released by the decomposition of consumer
products which have components containing
them. The first targets to be looked at are
bacteria in the ground and water. Are the
nanoparticles trapped on the surface of the
bacterium? Do they go inside it? If so, what
happens to them? Do the bacteria put up
any resistance?
Toxicity and exposure
These toxicological studies do not yet take
account of the processes of exposure of cells
in the body, which is a more complex
environment than in vitro experiments
provide. Until the results of the full toxicology
study program are available, those working
in laboratories are avoiding contact with
nanoparticles by using containment methods
(air locks, filters, packaging of powders, etc.).
NANOSCIENCES
1. Minatec® center was inaugurated in
June 2006
2. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM)
performed on a nanocharacterisation
platform
3. Atomic force microscope used for nano
and micro component imaging
4. Automatic parametric tester
to perform functional characterization on
microsystems
INTERVIEW
Jean-Philippe
Bourgoin
5. Holographic and analytical Titan
Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM)
used to characterize materials
6. Wafer to wafer assembly and
lithography cluster
7. Micro-traction station to study
microsystems
8. Programming the Endura 5500C
machine to apply metal coating
applications for Microsystems
9. Lithography area for microsystems
1
© CEA
of the Physical Sciences
Division, director of
CEA’s cross-disciplinary
Nanosciences program
“ORGANIZING
WORK AND
SKILLS”
Why is such a program necessary?
It’s a question of making early research in our
fields – Information's Technologies, Health and
Energy – more visible. It’s also a question of
developing our partnerships most notably with
CNRS and the universities, of strengthening
the sectors in which we excel at fundamental
research and of developing their application
potential.
2
What fields are covered?
In addition to the work already in place on quantum
electronics, chemistry for nanoelectronics,
separation chemistry or spin electronics and
nanomagnetism, new research subjects are
emerging. We are interested in the behavior of
fluids in fuel cells and biochips and in thermal
exchanges in electronic components and
refrigerant fluids. Simulation of nano-objects,
materials and electronic
components is also playing
an increasing role, as are
particular aspects of nanocharacterization. Finally, in
collaboration with crossdisciplinary programs on health
technologies and materials, we
have grouped and expanded the
research launched by CEA since
2001 on the potential risks from
nanotechnologies.
“
Simulation
of nano-objects
is also playing
an increasing
role in health
technologies.
3
”
Sophie Astorg – Le journal de Saclay nr 36 – 2007, April
4
RESEARCH ON MICRO- AND
NANOTECHNOLOGIES HOLDS
PROMISE... WITH MINATEC®
5
6
7
8
While Nanosciences are studied in both Saclay and Grenoble,
research into Nanotechnology is mainly conducted at the
Minatec ® labs in Grenoble.
Initiated by CEA-LETI1 and INP2
Grenoble, the Minatec® center was
inaugurated in early June 2006. It's an
impressive site with 44,000 m2 of new
buildings spread over roughly 20 acres
of land – becoming a major European
innovation and consulting center for
micro- and nanotechnologies demands
significant investment. “Grenoble's
nanoscience and nanotechnology center is
an extension of all the programs recently
implemented by public authorities for
research and its application,” declared
François Goulard, Minister Delegate for
higher education and research, during
his visit to the CEA's Grenoble center
on October 31st, 2006.
The Minatec® concept is unique in both
France and Europe. Why? Because it
brings students and teachers as well as
researchers and people from industry.
Minatec® gives them the chance to
exchange ideas and work together at a
single location. As a result, “upstream”
research is undertaken by scientists in
the Physical Sciences Division, whereas
“downstream” projects tend to be handled
by researchers in the Technological
Research Division. Which is in keeping
with the race to miniaturize and the era
of the infinitely tiny, both well underway.
It is imperative to harness the most
fundamental properties of matter, push
back the limits of current technologies,
and map out new technologies within
a multidisciplinary framework. Minatec®
will focus on major research themes such
as microelectronics, nanoscience applied
to biology or new materials, and software.
No less than 3,500 engineers, researchers,
and academics will strive to meet this
objective, using the most advanced
equipment and technological resources.
Nanomaterials have inspired high hopes
and should lead to all sorts of products
that are both competitive and
environmentally friendly. Being more
and more efficient means producing on
an ever smaller scale, with lower
costs and higher performance. We
immediately think of cell phones,
computers, and so forth, but the realworld applications of this research are
far more numerous: in the automotive
industry, for healthcare, entertainment,
safety, etc.
1. Laboratoire d'électronique et de technologie
de l'information (electronics and information
technology laboratory).
2.Institut National Polytechnique (engineering
school).
> For more information:
http://www.minatec.com/minatec_uk/index.htm
Photos 1-4 & 6-9: © P. Stroppa/CEA
Photo 5: © C. Morel/CEA
9
WASTE – ADVANCED PARTITIONING
SOLUTIONS FOR
RADIOACTIVE WASTE
How can
© P. Stroppa/CEA
radioactive waste
be sustainably
managed? The
CEA (French
Atomic Energy
Commission) has
been carrying out
in-depth research
under an Act dated
December 30,
1991 1. Our report
Storage hall in the Saclay center. Each of the
100 shafts is ten meters deep, the highly irradiant
drums are transferred to the shafts in a shipping
cask and covered with a concrete plug.
focuses on the
three areas of
investigation and
TOPICS TO EXPLORE
/// Review of 15 years of research
/// Partitioning
/// 2006: the new law
their results.
1. This act, also referred to as the “Bataille Act”, was transposed into the
French Environment Code as Article L.542 in September 2000
Research focus 1:
Scientific demonstration
of partitioning and
transmutation (P&T)
For the last twenty years or so,
the French nuclear industry has
been recycling3 95% of its spent
nuclear fuel, unburned uranium
and plutonium, which is used
for producing a new fuel cycle.
The remaining 5%, which is
waste, is immediately vitrified.
Of this waste, the only items
covered by the 1991 Act are longlived high-level radioactive
elements (0.4% of the spent fuel).
Research Focus 1 is looking
into a way of separating the
most radioactive elements for
transmutation. The partitioning
research undertaken at the Atalante
facility at the CEA Valrhô center
(at Marcoule, near Avignon) has
demonstrated process feasibility
in the laboratory. A high-yield
transmutation process, where
long-lived radioactive elements
are bombarded with neutrons,
can be performed in fast breeder
reactors, as proven by the tests
run in the CEA's Phénix
experimental reactor at Marcoule.
However, partitioning and
transmutation is not industrially
feasible before 2040, and will
only be used for waste produced
after that time. The CNRS
(French National Centre for
>>>
2. French National Agency for Radioactive Waste Management.
3. Spent fuel is processed in Cogema's La Hague plant.
150
The number of extracting molecules tested by
researchers during studies into minor actinide
partitioning.
© CEA
n June 2005, ANDRA2 and the
CEA each submitted a report
to the Ministry of Research
reviewing their work on longlived, high level radioactive waste
management, to enable the
government to propose a bill that
includes the solutions put
forward for sustainable waste
management. Nearly 80% of
French electricity is currently
produced by nuclear power
plants, which ensures energy
independence, standing France
in good stead given oil
price rises and limited fossil
fuel supplies, and also
ensures low greenhouse gas
emissions. When France
opted for nuclear power in
the 1970s, it immediately
started research into waste
management. The 1991 Act
gave the research a boost
and focused on three
areas: partitioning and
transmutation, geological
disposal and conditioning
& storage. Research
is still ongoing, but
a large body of
results has already
been produced, showing the way
to potential solutions.
Let's take a look at three research
areas that have focused French
science on one major issue for
a number of years: the sustainable
management of radioactive material.
Research
reactor Phenix
is dedicated to
waste
transmutation
© A. Gonin/CEA
ATA L A N T E :
T H E O N LY F A C I L I T Y O F
ITS TYPE IN THE WORLD
The Atalante facility at Marcoule hosts highly specialized
laboratories for work on improving spent fuel
reprocessing procedures. It has been specially designed
for studies into the management of long-lived high-level
waste (HLW): design and testing of extraction molecules
and studies into advanced partitioning processes,
design and manufacturing of irradiation targets for
transmutation and long term behavioral studies into
waste in storage or repositories. The CEA is also
developing methods for reprocessing and recycling fuel
from the fast neutron energy production systems of the
future. This unique facility is staffed by more than
200 people. The commissioning of Atalante was
announced by the ASN College (French Nuclear Safety
Authority) on June 22, 2007. ASN carried out a safety
review at the same time.
Special Issue – Les Défis du CEA – 2005, July
> TRANSMUTATION: The process of transforming a longlived radioactive element into an element with a shorter
half-life or a stable element.
© P. Stroppa/CEA
I
© T. Foulon/CEA
Separating
actinides:
filtering operation
in a glove box in
the Atalante
facility.
center should be built between
2020 and 2025. According to the
Parliamentary Office for the
Evaluation of Scientific and
Technological Choices, this is a
vital option, but one that must be
reversible. All nuclear-waste
producing countries have selected
this as an option. Likewise, experts
from the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA), an UN
authority recommend deep
geological disposal, considering
it the safest current option.
Scientific Research) is working
on another transmutation method,
using hybrid nuclear systems.
Research focus 2:
Towards reversible deep
geological disposal
ANDRA is working on the second
research focus proposed in the
1991 Act. It is looking at ultimate
disposal of radioactive waste in
deep geological repositories,
capable of ensuring long-term
containment several hundred
meters below the ground. ANDRA
(French National Agency for
Radioactive Waste Management)
is studying three rock types –
granite, salt and clay. It has set up
a field laboratory at Bure, in the
Meuse region, that has been
operational for several months. If
the research is successful and
political leaders make the relevant
decisions, a geological disposal
Research focus 3:
Increasingly
high-quality storage
© P. Dumas/CEA
Long-lived high level radioactive
waste from spent fuel processing
is currently vitrified and stored
pending an ultimate solution, to
be determined by the
Government after a parliamentary
debate. Current storage technologies
and facilities have been much
higher-performing over the last
few years, improved through
work by the CEA under Research
Focus 3. New waste conditioning
matrices developed at the CEA
Marcoule center have brought
gains in terms of performance,
reduced volumes and increaseddurability packages. The
Parliamentary Office has judged
France's currently operational
storage facilities, at the Cogema
plant at La Hague and the CEA
Cadarache center as highly
efficient and fit to be safely used
for another fifty years. The goal
is to have storage facilities with
a service life of 100 to 300 years.
1991-2006,
a review of 15 years
of research into
advanced
partitioning
Under the “Bataille” Act, one of the
major focuses in the drive to reduce
the quantity and danger of long-lived
high-level nuclear waste is to partition
some long-lived radionuclides, either to
transmute them or to carry out specific
conditioning. After the 15 years of
research prescribed by lawmakers,
Christine Rostaing, “Advanced
Partitioning” Project Manager, reviews
the progress made in research in this
field over the period.
Amélie Kroell - Les Défis du CEA Nr 106
2005, August
Evolving Vitrification
Prototype (AVP)
The entire processing and conditioning chain for highlevel radioactive waste was tested in Atalante: glove boxes
comprised of a test loop for liquid-liquid extraction processes,
a shielded process line on spent fuel and a selection of
shielded compartments designed to host confinement
matrices (glass, ceramic) and to study the long-term behavior
of high-level waste packages; complemented by the shielded
process line for experimentation, which confirmed the
technical feasibility of advanced partitioning.
PARTITIONING
BY LIQUIDLIQUID
EXTRACTION
© P. Stroppa/CEA
Most of the partitioning studies
have focused on six radionuclides:
• the minor actinides
(americium Am, curium Cm
and neptunium Np) which,
after plutonium, are the main
contributors to the long-term
radio-toxic inventory of spent
fuels,
• three fission products
(iodine I, cesium Cs and
technetium Tc) which were
selected due to their abundance
in spent fuel, the existence of
a long-lived isotope and their
potential long-term mobility
within a geological repository.
The procedure used
In order to perform minor actinide
partitioning, extraction with a
solvent was selected as the
reference procedure. This is a
proven technique in the chemical
industry and there is significant
data available from operational
use of the PUREX process at the
La Hague plant over several
decades. The strategy therefore
consisted of:
• firstly, adapting the PUREX
process to recover neptunium,
technetium and iodine.
• secondly, developing complementary
solvent-based extraction processes
(hence the expression “advanced
partitioning”) to separate out
americium, curium and cesium
from the high-level waste
produced by the PUREX process
currently vitrified.
A target date of 2006 was set and
the research was organized into
two broad phases, aiming to
demonstrate the scientific feasibility
(validating the basic concepts of
partitioning) by the end of 2001
and the technical feasibility (trials
and overall validation of the
processes) by 2005.
The initial exploration phase
was undertaken over a decade,
involving wide-ranging cooperative
ventures. It consisted of assessing
the various extraction systems,
chiefly targeting the trickiest stage
– separating the actinides from
the lanthanides. The second
demonstration phase, between
2002 and 2005, focused on the
processes deemed the most
promising.
A three-stage approach
It is not easy to recover and
separate the minor actinides
(americium and curium) within
>>>
Liquid-liquid extraction
is a technique that
uses two immiscible
liquids, one aqueous
phase and one organic
phase. The elements to
be separated are all
dissolved in the
aqueous phase and a
special molecule,
referred to as the
“extracting” molecule,
is dissolved in the
organic phase. The role
of this molecule is to
capture the elements
required for separation
within the aqueous
phase and to take them
with it (extract them)
into the organic phase.
This molecule needs to
be both effective
(having a good affinity
with the elements to be
separated) and
selective (affinity only
with said elements).
One of the major
difficulties in designing
a liquid-liquid
extraction process is
selecting this
extracting molecule.
Special Issue
Les défis du CEA - 2005, July
> PUREX:
Purification by
refining extraction.
> LANTHANIDES:
fission products
from the lanthan
family, with similar
chemical properties
to actinides.
Review and outlook
Since 1991, research into
advanced partitioning has enabled
procedures to be developed for
selectively recovering americium
and curium from fission product
solutions derived from the PUREX
process (99.9% recovery rate,
which meets the stated goal). The
selected concepts were validated
before the end of the first phase
of research (end of 2001). During
the second phase (2002-2005),
the processes were successfully
tested. Firstly, the solvent
endurance was tested in the
irradiation loop. Subsequently
the demonstration tests were
successfully performed, in April
and November 2005 respectively,
in the Atalante shielded process
cell, a 1/500 replica of the
industrial technologies, using
approximately 15 kg of EDF fuel.
But over and above the scientific
results expected within the strict
framework of the law, it should
also be emphasized that this
period was useful for carrying
out numerous basic studies, for
instance into the extraction and
complexation mechanisms of
various extraction systems.
Doctoral and Post-Doc research
contributed greatly, along
with national (GdR PRACTIS and
PARIS), European (NEWPART,
PA RT N E W, C A L I X PA RT,
E U R O PA R T, e t c . ) a n d
international collaborations
(Japan, Russia, USA, etc.). The
CEA and the Valrho center have
thus acquired new skills (e.g.
molecular modeling) and new
tools (see insert Future
challenges).
The program also provided an
opportunity to run a project from
start to finish, from designing the
extraction molecules to testing a
process on several kilograms of
spent fuel. The work has boosted
partitioning chemistry and
actinide chemistry enhancing
excellence within our teams ready
to meet future challenges.
Christine Rostaing,
“Advanced Partitioning” Project Manager
Rive droite Rive Gauche - 2006, May
© A. Gonin/CEA
high-level waste (HLW). A number
of factors make this a complex
problem. The very similar chemical
properties of the actinides (at
oxidation degree III) and the
lanthanides (at oxidation
degree III), mean they are difficult
to separate; in addition, there is a
large variety of elements within
the solution, which is moreover
highly acidic. A three-stage
approach is required:
• Stage 1: the DIAMEX, which
consists of simultaneously
extracting the actinides and
lanthanides using a molecule
from the malonamide family;
• Stage 2: the SANEX process,
separating out the Am+Cm pair
from the lanthanide group;
• Stage 3: the Am/Cm partitioning
process, using diamides.
FUTURE CHALLENGES
© A. Gonin/CEA
Given the decisions needed in 2006, our significant results opened up a range of possibilities
for processing spent fuel in Generation IV reactor-fuel cycle systems that recycle their own
waste. The choice was made to transmute actinides in FBRs 1, these studies will need to be
continued and adapted, depending on the nature of the actinide compounds selected for
recycling. In Atalante, work is already under way in this area, with
the parallel development of partitioning and multiple actinide
conversion (integrated processing and re-manufacturing concept).
The preparation for the demonstration experiment on key processes
for this concept (access to the fissile compound; multiple actinide
dissolving, extraction and conversion process; forming the fissile
compound and re-manufacturing the fuel element), will use a fuel representative of a GFR 2.
The research teams will gradually focus their efforts on these new goals, which will also
require developments in the Atalante facility.
Christine Rostaing, “Advanced Partitioning” Project Manager
© P. Stroppa/CEA
1. FBR: Fast Breeder Reactor - 2. GFR: Gas-cooled Fast Reactor
Top: Managing waste drums during
dismantling operations in the UP1 plant
in Marcoule.
© P. Dumas/CEA
Middle: Shielded compartments for
dry processes used to manufacture
(crushing, pressing, sintering and
cladding) fuels for studies, transmutation
targets and confinement matrices.
Bottom: Mock-up for long-term
storage in the ground below the CECER
(Centre of expertise in conditioning and
storage of radioactive material).
99%
This is the proportion of americium and curium
that the selected molecules and the process
developed in ATALANTE can partition out of the
solution sourced from reprocessed spent fuel.
NEW TEAMS FOR ICSM
The Marcoule Institute of Separative
Chemisty (ICSM), a mixed research unit
jointly run by the CNRS (40%), University
of Montpellier 2 (20%) and the CEA
(40%), is planning on an influx of around
a hundred researchers in 2010. In the
short term however, the first of these
newcomers need to be identified – these
will be the first teams to get into the
Institute’s new premises at the entrance
to the Marcoule site.
Non-permanent staff Given staff
turnover, 15 new researchers will be
selected every year. Three tender
processes were run, in September 2004,
June and September 2005. In each
tender, an innovative and realistic
scientific collaboration was proposed,
supervised either by the Montpellier
Chemistry cluster – the Universities of
Montpellier, the Montpellier-based
Grande Ecole ENSCM and CEA-ICSM – or
by another French university or CNRSrun laboratory.
Permanent staff 50 applications were
received by the close of the 2006
recruitment campaign. 16 candidates
have been interviewed by the
Shortlisting Committee and 12 have been
selected: 3 from the University of
Montpellier 2, 3 from the CNRS and 6
from the CEA (including 3 external
recruits). After 4 campaigns, the staff
team should be complete.
In addition, European collaborations in
the Physical Chemistry of Actinides (with
the Institute for Transuranic Elements,
Karlsruhe) and Sonochemistry (with
Max Planck Institute) are being set up to
enable researchers to work in mixed
ICSM units hosted by foreign
laboratories, from Spring 2007.
These initiatives should all help bring
together the teams and enable them to
be immediately operational when the
ICSM laboratories open in March 2008.
The new
law is here
The final text1 of the bill to succeed the “Bataille
Act” (dating from December 30, 1991) was
approved by the National Assembly on June 15,
2006, following its examination by the Senate.
This report focuses on “Program Law”
no. 2006-739 dated June 28, which is much
larger in scope than its predecessor, since it
pertains “to the sustainable management of
radioactive materials and waste.” In other words
it covers all the CEA’s waste-related activities research, management, decommissioning,
facility operation and communication.
The new law lays down the
principle that “sustainable
management of radioactive
materials and waste of any
description (…) is undertaken in
compliance with the protection
of human health, safety and the
environment”, and in Article 3,
stipulates that research and study
related to long-lived high or
intermediate level radioactive
waste is to be performed “in three
complementary areas”, resulting
for the most part from work carried
out at Marcoule over the last fifteen
years or more.
1. Research and study focusing on
partitioning and transmutation
of long-lived radioactive elements
“are to be undertaken in relation
to research carried out into new
generations of nuclear reactors
(…) and accelerator-driven
systems dedicated to waste
transmutation”. The stated goal
is to be have an appraisal of the
“industrial potential of these
processes” by 2012 and to “put a
prototype facility into operation
by December 31, 2020”.
2. With respect to deep geological
disposal, a goal has been set for
researchers and engineers, to
design a reversible repository
>>>
1. The Act was signed by the President of the Republic and 8 Government ministers: the Prime
Ministers and Ministers of the Interior, Defense, Foreign Affairs, Health, Economy, Finance &
Industry, Education & Research and Ecology.
Gilles Richard - Rive droite Rive gauche – 2006, November
Studying the
diffusion of
hydrogen
through concrete
in the top of shell
used for the
storage/disposal
of intermediatelevel, long-lived
waste.
300years
After this period, 90% of radioactive waste returns to a level of radioactivity
comparable with background radiation. This waste is disposed of in existing final
repositories managed by ANDRA.
© A. Gonin/CEA
Laser-welding glove-box for
cladding containing pellets of study
fuel, transmutation targets and
confinement matrices.
and to focus on selecting a site.
The operating start date has
been set for 2025, ten years after
filing the permission application,
which will be investigated and
debated in depth.
3. The same date of 2015 (at the
latest) has been set for creating
new storage facilities or adapting
existing facilities, on the basis
of research and study into the
issues, in order to “meet the
needs, particularly in terms
of capacity and duration.”
These three research focuses were
already known, but a calendar has
now been set, and additional
details and provisions laid down:
• the partitioning and transmutation
process is clearly linked to
Generation IV systems,
• deep geological disposal must
be reversible for a duration of
“no less than one hundred years”,
• the role of ANDRA is broadening,
to include, for instance, cleaning
up of radioactive contamination
sites or coordinating research
and study to be carried out (or
commissioned) with respect to
deep geological disposal and
as well as storage,
• three new taxes have been
created, in addition to the
existing tax on Basic Nuclear
Installations: they will be used
to fund economic development
and the roll-out of technology
in the areas surrounding the
selected disposal site, and
research and study into storage
and deep geological disposal.
The sums allocated to this research
and the construction and operation
of the corresponding facilities will
be paid into funds accounted for
separately within ANDRA.
A broader scope
The new law is much broader
in scope than the previous Bataille
Act. In particular, it sets in place
a research and study program,
aimed at commissioning a graphite
and radium-bearing waste disposal
center by 2013, and provide three
“deliverables” by 2008: storage
solutions for tritiated waste (until
the radioactivity has decayed
enough to allow for ground-level
or shallow disposal), finalization
of disposal solutions for used
sealed sources (in existing or new
centers) and a long-term impact
assessment on uranium mine
tailing disposal sites (with a
reinforced radiological monitoring
plan for these sites).
Under the new law, the first ever
national radioactive materials and
waste management plan is to be
put in place by December 31,
2006. This type of plan is to be
drawn up every three years by the
Government, and assessed by the
Parliamentary Office for the
Evaluation of Scientific and
Technological Choices. It will
review the existing management
methods for radioactive materials
and waste, survey the foreseeable
requirements for storage or
disposal facilities, specify their
capacity and duration (in the case
of storage) and establish targets
to be met (with a calendar), for
radioactive waste items that
still have no final management
method. This plan must comply
with three major objectives:
1. reducing the quantity and
danger of the radioactive waste,
in particular by reprocessing
spent fuel and processing and
conditioning radioactive waste;
in this respect, owners of long>>>
Interview
Interview
PHILIPPE PRADEL
“
Major breakthroughs have
been achieved in nuclear
waste management.
lived Intermediate Level Waste
(ILW) produced before 2015
must have it conditioned by
2030 at the latest,
2. use specially designed facilities
to store radioactive material
awaiting reprocessing and
ultimate radioactive waste
awaiting disposal,
3. use deep geological repositories
to dispose of ultimate radioactive
waste that cannot be disposed
of in ground or shallow
repositories, for nuclear safety
or radiological protection
reasons.
Information,
assessment and
international cooperation
Like the preceding law, the new
one outlaws the disposal of
foreign radioactive waste in
France, but specifies the reason
for this ban. The law provides for
intergovernmental agreements to
be published in the Journal Officiel
(official gazette), specifying a
framework under which foreign
fuels may be reprocessed in
France, and how long the related
waste will remain stored on French
soil. Operators running research
and reprocessing operations
involving foreign radioactive
”
substances will have to draw up
an annual inventory on this issue,
which will be made public, along
with the annual report form the
National Board for Research
Assessment. The board must
include “at least one international
expert” and its report must “review
research carried out abroad”. The
same requirements apply to the
national radioactive materials and
waste management plan. It will
have to summarize research and
projects carried out outside France.
The new law requires wider
communication to the general
public. One body that could be
involved in communication
is the High Commission for
Transparency and Information on
Nuclear Safety, established under
a different law dated June 13,
2006. This new body could
organize “periodical consultations
and debates on the sustainable
management of radioactive
materials and waste.” Likewise, a
National Board, distinct from the
aforementioned research board,
will assess operators' funding of
decommissioning and radioactive
material management expenses.
It will also issue a tri-annual report
to the general public.
Gilles Richard - Rive droite Rive gauche
2006, September
What is your appraisal of
CEA research over these
last fifteen years?
The 1991 law brought
research projects into the
spotlight, some of which
were already underway, and
encouraged domestic and
international cooperation.
I would like to emphasize
the lively exchanges
stemming from the
confrontation of scientific
ideas among various players
in research, industry and
operations. The full range of
possibilities has been
explored with our partners
[ed: in France, chiefly ANDRA
and the CNRS] and major
breakthroughs have been
achieved. We now have a
panel of solutions, which are
actually complementary, and
will feed a calm and
informed public debate. To
give you an example, we
have reduced the volume of
intermediate level
radioactive waste by a factor
of 10. Likewise, having
demonstrated the scientific
feasibility of actinide
partitioning [ed: some of the
most radioactive elements]
and the existing methods for
transmuting them in fast
reactors, there is potential
for further reductions in final
waste in the future.
What might be the
international knock-on
effect of the these
results?
There is now a massive
renewal of interest in
nuclear power, throughout
the world, particularly in Asia
[ed: China and India], linked
to growing energy needs
and the requirement of
limiting CO2 emissions.
France is one of the
technological leaders with its
spent fuel reprocessing &
recycling processes, but also
a leader in institutional
terms, with a coherent
system and multiple,
rigorous, independent
control mechanisms. We are
being watched by the rest of
the world and need to show
that reasonable, sustainable
solutions for nuclear waste
management exist. Japan is
building a plant similar to
Cogema’s La Hague facility
at Rokkasho Mura. The USA
and China are now looking
at our technological options
with interest.
Is there a synergy
between research into
waste management and
research into future
systems?
Yes there is, because
research into the nuclear
systems of the future
involves a goal of
sustainable development,
which implies reducing
releases and waste as much
as possible, and recycling to
maximize resources. That is
why people talk about
“systems” these days, a
term referring both to
reactors and the associated
fuel cycle. Within the
framework of the
Generation IV initiative,
drawing together Euratom
and 10 other countries, four
of the six technological
options selected for the
nuclear systems to be
deployed by 2030 are fast
breeder reactors, which will
enable these sustainable
development goals to be
met. France is heavily
involved in research on this
type of reactor, and
already has wideranging expertise. I
Interview with Claire Abou
Les défis du CEA – No. 106
©L
.G
oda
rt/C
EA
© A. Gonin/CEA
CEA Director of Nuclear Energy
SCIENTIFIC HIGHLIGHTS
© Collaboration VKS/CEA
The dynamics of
THE EARTH’S MAGNETIC FIELD
reproduced in the laboratory
Over the geological ages, the Earth has
undergone several erratic reversals of its
magnetic field. The sun’s magnetic field is
reversed regularly every 22 years according to
its cycle. These magnetic dynamics, which are
still shrouded in mystery, play a role in our
planet’s exposure to cosmic rays.
The joint VKS experiment1 (CEA2, CNRS, the Ecole
Normale Supérieure in Lyon3 and the Ecole Normale
Supérieure in Paris4) has, for the very first time,
observed magnetic field reversals in laboratory
conditions thanks to a highly turbulent flow of
liquid sodium. The experiments should help scientists
to understand more about cosmic magnetic field
reversals. The results are published in Europhysics
Letters, Volume 77, March 2007.
The Earth’s magnetic field is created by highly
disordered movements that churn up the liquid
iron core at the center of the Earth. This is known
as the “dynamo” effect. One of its most astonishing
characteristics, revealed by paleomagnetic research,
is that reversal of the magnetic poles is totally random.
They remain close to the Earth’s geographic poles
and flip between north and south about once every
100,000 years or so, although longer periods have
been found between reversals. On average, these
reversals last a few thousand years.
The cause and timescale of such reversals, together
with the geometry of the magnetic field during a
reversal, remain the subject of much debate.
The consequences may be considerable: during a
reversal, the magnetosphere that protects the Earth
from solar and cosmic radiation is significantly
weakened. Life on Earth, and human life in
particular, has survived this kind of situation in
the past (the last reversal occurred 700,000 years
ago), but a repeat would severely interfere with
our modern communications systems (satellites
and networks, etc.).
The researchers involved in the VKS experiment
have shown that the dynamo effect could be
reproduced in a laboratory experiment, using a
turbulent flow of liquid sodium produced by the
counter-rotation of two impellers inside a cylinder5:
with the two impellers rotating at the same speed,
a stationary magnetic field is spontaneously generated
once a certain threshold is exceeded. They have
now observed that when the impellers rotate at
different speeds, thus adding global rotation similar
to that of the planets and stars, the dynamo field
may vary over the course of time. Certain regimes
have uncannily similar characteristics to the behavior
of the Earth’s magnetic field.
The field flips from one state of polarity to its opposite
for irregular time periods, with the transition from
one polarity to the other lasting a very short duration.
- The periods during which the field is stable vary
in length, but always last longer than reversal time.
- Field excursions, periods during which the field
decays and then grows again with no polarity
change, can also be observed.
At other rotation speeds, the magnetic field may
periodically be reversed, rotating in space without
polarities canceling each other out, as is observed
in the case of the sun.
These experiments imply that it will now be possible
to conduct laboratory studies of phenomena that
have intrigued geophysicists and astrophysicists for
centuries.
Magnetic field (in gauss) measured in the experiment
in relation to time (in seconds). The sodium flow
is driven by two turbines with counter-rotating
impellers rotating at different speeds.
Delphine Kaczmarek – 2007, April
1. Von Karman (the physicist after whom the flow was
named). Sodium (the fluid used in these experiments).
2. CEA’s Condensed State Physics Department, Physical
Sciences Division, team headed by François Daviaud.
3. Physics Laboratory at the Ecole Normale Supérieure de
Lyon, (CNRS, ENS Lyon), team headed by JeanFrançois Pinton.
4. Statistical Physics Laboratory (ENS Paris, CNRS,
University of Paris VI and Paris VII), team headed by
Stephan Fauve.
5. The VKS experiment took place at CEA/Cadarache, at
the Department of Nuclear Technology in the Nuclear
Energy Division. The results are presented in an article in
Physical Review Letter 98, 044502 (2007).
© P. Stroppa/CEA
SOITEC-LETI COMPETENCY CENTER
Soitec, the world leader in silicon-on-insulator technology, is pooling its skills with
those of CEA/LETI* to set up the Nanosmart Center, a world-class center of excellence
in advanced materials for the microelectronics industry. Funded by A21, the French
agency for industrial innovation, the Nanosmart Center will develop new generations
of semiconductor materials for innovative applications, such as high-frequency telecom
components and power components for the automotive and audiovisual industries.
CEA Technologies No. 83 – November-December 2006
* LETI: Electronics and Information Technology Laboratory.
REMOTE
RECHARGE
FOR YOUR
BATTERIES
XEDIX: 100 TB OF DATA SCREENED
IN JUST A FEW SECONDS
Using Xedix, the native XML database developed by the CEA, it takes less than
a second to find a document in a 100 Tbyte base. A start-up called Xedix Tera
Solutions is being set up to market this unique product that has potential
applications in a wide range of areas, including multimedia, research,
telecommunications and avionics.
© F. Rhodes/CEA
be carried out using a conventional browser
or a customized interface developed in
the language of the user's choice (Java,
PHP, etc.). The tool has already been
validated on other applications during
collaborative work carried out in the
System@tic competitiveness cluster. A
start-up called Xedix Tera Solutions is
being set up to market it.
With a product like this, the future looks
bright for the budding firm. There are
clear signs of interest from many
sectors including archiving services and
multimedia libraries, the research
community (European projects, joint
research-industry projects) and the world
of scientific and technical information.
Xedix Tera Solutions also hopes to arouse
the interest of other sectors such as largescale scientific instrument companies (that
generate vast amounts of data),
telecommunications, and industries that
produce great quantities of documentation,
like the automotive and pharmaceutical
industries.
CEA Technologies No. 85 – April 2007
Vahé Ter Minassian - Les Défis du CEA No. 122 – March 2007
1. LITEN: Laboratory for Innovation in New Energy
Technologies and Nanomaterials
© Artechnique/CEA
The CEA is producing for its own
requirements an ultra high-performance
information management system called
Xedix, which it is currently testing on a
100 TB database.
A world first. “The archives of the Institut
National de l'Audiovisuel (French National
Audiovisual Institute) only represent 85 to
90 TB of data,” comments Didier Courtaud.
“If we were to store all the events of a person's
life on a single electronic storage medium,
it would take up about 100 GB, in other words,
a thousand times less than the total storage
capacity of Xedix.” The tests are performed
using standard test cases made up of several
types of realistic data. They are expected
to confirm the good results from earlier
tests carried out in 2003 on one TB and
in 2005 on ten TB. “We think we'll be able
to obtain response times of less than a second
for most queries.”
An outstanding information storage and
indexing system is the key to this
performance. The system stores and
indexes all data in XML (Extended Markup
Language), a descriptive language that
is totally independent of desktop software
programs and their constant stream of
upgrades. Image or video files are stored
in the base and listed in XML as metadata
describing the subject, shooting date,
characters or any other information selected
by the database administrator.
What's more, the data indexing system is
smart. “Unlike conventional search engines,
Xedix identifies the tag in which the required
character string(s) is(are) located. This means
that the query can be made clearer by adding
as many criteria as necessary.” Queries can
The mini-battery developed by CEA-LITEN1
research teams could make a great difference
in the lives of people with certain disabilities.
The remotely rechargeable battery, which
can be fitted inside the human body with
a number of other stand-alone devices, opens
the door to a new generation of medical
appliances, including muscle stimulators
for paralyzed hands or for hearing implants.
The long-familiar lithium battery used in
pacemakers is capable of supplying electrical
power over a period of many years.
However, as it cannot be recharged and its
lifetime is limited by its size, it can only be
used to power devices with very low energy
consumption. “Which brings us to the
rechargeable, lithium-ion mini-battery we have
developed as part of the European Healthy Aims
project, in association with our industrial partner,
Saft. The battery meets the specifications of
implant manufacturers like Cochlear Ltd. and
Finetech Medical,” explains Séverine
Jouanneau, a researcher at CEA-LITEN.
“Lightweight (2 g) and compact (1 cm3), the
battery is only 5 mm thick, yet provides
maximum energy (50 mAh) and can be
recharged daily.” Recharging can be carried
out by induction through the skin during
the night using a device placed at the patient's
bedside. Another advantage is service life –
the battery can work for more than ten years
at a temperature of 37°C.
The HESS observatory team awarded the European
Descartes prize for its progress in
VERY HIGH-ENERGY GAMMA ASTRONOMY
On March 7, 2007, the French-German very
high-energy gamma ray observatory received
the 2006 Descartes prize. Since the year 2000,
this prize has been awarded annually to scientific
teams for their transnational research results.
It was awarded to the HESS team in recognition
of the quality of results concerning the “nonthermal universe” or “violent universe” that
opened up a new field of astronomy. The HESS
observatory's results have been hailed as a world
first in gamma astronomy.
The observatory was mainly built by French
and German laboratories, later joined by teams
> GAMMA RAYS: Like visible light
or X-rays, gamma radiation is
made up of photons, but at much
higher energy levels. Visible light
has an energy of around one
electron volt (1 eV). X-rays are in
the range of one thousand to one
million eV. HESS detects very
high-energy gamma rays that can
reach a million million eV (or
1 tera-electron volt (1 TeV)).
There are few of these very highenergy gamma rays. Even for a
relatively intense astrophysics
source, the flow of gamma
photons entering the atmosphere
is around one per month per
square meter.
Telescope Array or CTA, will increase sensitivity
tenfold and considerably add to available
information sources.
Delphine Kaczmarek – 2007, March
1. LLR École polytechnique (IN2P3/CNRS), LPNHE of the
Universités Paris VI and VII (IN2P3/CNRS), APC
(IN2P3/CNRS/Université Paris 7/CEA), LPTA Université
de Montpellier 2 (IN2P3/CNRS), LAPP Annecy le Vieux
(IN2P3/CNRS), CESR Toulouse (INSU/CNRS), LAOG
Grenoble (INSU/CNRS), LUTH Observatoire de ParisMeudon (INSU/CNRS).
2. DAPNIA, Research laboratory dedicated to the
fundamental laws of the Universe in the Physical Sciences
Division.
ATLAS, ACCELERATING DETECTION
The superconducting toroidal magnet of the Atlas experiment
has just been started up at the LHC facility1.
A 21,000 A current was injected into the eight coils of the
magnet to produce its magnetic field2. CEA-DAPNIA scientists,
who have been closely involved in the design and construction
of Atlas, took this opportunity to check all the magnet operating
parameters and performed a successful test on its muon
spectrometer. This instrument has already detected cosmic
muon tracks bent under the influence of the magnetic field.
These results are very encouraging for the research teams, who
are now waiting for the LHC – the world's largest proton collider
– to be commissioned at the end of the year, when they will
be able to record and analyze the first collision data, and answer
a number of basic questions in particle physics – such as “does
the Higgs boson exist?”.
Aude Ganier – Les Défis du CEA n° 121 – February 2007
1. Large Hadron Collider,
installed in a tunnel with a
circumference of 27 km,
built 100 m below the
ground at the CERN in
Geneva.
2. The Atlas magnet stores
1.1 GJ of magnetic energy,
enough to lift the Eiffel
Tower about ten meters off
the ground.
© Cern
© ESO/ANTO/UT1
from other European and southern African
countries. In France, it brings together CNRS
(IN2P3 and INSU)1 and CEA (DAPNIA2)
laboratories.
HESS (High Energy Stereoscopic System) is
the name given to four telescopes installed
on the Gamsberg plateau in Namibia. HESS is
primarily dedicated to observing the southern
skies that give access to most of the Milky Way.
HESS provides precious information about
some of the Universe’s most violent phenomena
by detecting very high-energy gamma rays,
using the light flashes they produce as they
interact with the Earth's
atmosphere (“Cherenkov
effect”).
The
HESS
experiment will soon be
enhanced by the installation
of a very large telescope - 28
meters in diameter - at the
center of the existing array
of four instruments. This new
phase of the experiment will
not only enhance sensitivity
but also overlap with the
energy range covered by
NASA's gamma astronomy
satellite, GLAST, which should
be launched in 2007. The
project, called Cherenkov
FIRST COMPLETE SIMULATION OF
PET IMAGING SCAN
OF THE WHOLE HUMAN BODY
Interpreting data from positron emission tomography (PET) - medical
imaging scanning increasingly used in hospitals - is still a complex
task. With a view to optimizing its analysis and extracting the most
relevant physiological information, researchers are working on computer
simulation programs to enhance PET techniques. The programs are
currently held back by computing time limitations.
conducted a simulation on
the Tera 10 supercomputer.
After modeling the
patient's body, using data
from an actual scan,
researchers simulated the
injection of a tracer by
selecting a realistic activity of 264 megabecquerels
(MBq) and an acquisition time similar to that
required for a standard PET scan. This initial
simulation required less than three hours'
computing time using 7,000 processors. The
subsequent comparison of the actual scan and
its simulation showed almost identical tracer
distribution. From a quantitative point of view,
comparisons of the volume of a tumor located
under the patient’s left axilla indicated a difference
of 6%, which is considered very low for an initial
simulation. This result represents a first decisive
step towards the development of methods that
could be used to correct actual data from PET
scans and, in the long term, target the creation
of a patient specification for PET acquisition
© CEA
This problem spurred CEA-SHFJ1 (Service
hospitalier Frédéric Joliot in Orsay near Paris) to
set up the GATE2 simulation platform, which
models PET scans using the Tera 10 supercomputer
located at the CEA's DAM-Ile-de-France3 centre
in Bruyères-le-Châtel near Paris. The ensuing
simulation made it possible to reproduce - in an
entirely realistic manner and in a very short time
- the distribution of a tracer used in PET for
diagnosing cancer. This first simulation result
means that, in the medium term, a more precise
use of data provided by the images can be envisaged
as well as personalized scans for patients.
These simulations are carried out using the
Monte-Carlo method, based on probability
theories. The analysis is hindered, however, by
the limitations of digital processing: for a standard
PET scan of the whole human body, a MonteCarlo simulation must process the emission of
several billion positrons and gamma photons,
which is the equivalent of 10,000 computing
hours, or 400 days of analysis on a standard PC.
To reduce this computing time, researchers
See the comparison of images
obtained below:
• Left: PET image of an actual
‘whole body’ scan
• Right: the result obtained through
simulation on Tera 10
protocols and analysis. It also shows the benefits
of intensive computing in the life science field.
Stéphane Laveissière – 2007, April
1. The SHFJ is one of the 4 research platforms of the
French Institute for BioMedical Imaging (CEA-I2BM).
The others are NeuroSpin (Saclay), MIRCen
(Fontenay-aux-Roses) and C-INAPS (Caen).
2. GATE: Geant4 Application for Tomographic Emission
– Geant4 is an international simulation program
developed at CERN (Switzerland).
3. DAM: Military Applications Division.
THE PIANIST'S FLOWING TOUCH
© P. Stroppa/CEA
Music lovers everywhere expect a digital piano to
provide a perfect reproduction of the touch offered
by a grand piano. But high-fidelity reproduction calls
for perfect control of parameters such as the mechanism's
resolution and bandwidth. CEA/LIST* took up this
challenge by joining forces with the Ecole Polytechnique's
Solid Mechanics Laboratory to develop a new sensory
interface technology based on the use of magnetorheological or MR fluids. These fluids, made up of
microscopic metal particles suspended in a liquid
solvent, change viscosity under the influence of a
magnetic field.
The degree of change is proportional to the intensity
of the applied field, making it possible to simulate
the “perfect” touch, using a real-time control system
and a dynamic model of traditional keys. The
demonstrator developed by CEA/LIST has not only
lived up to expectations. It also offers something extra
– low cost! This makes it compatible with industrial
production of keyboards integrating the new keys.
Other potential applications include sensory interfaces
and the design of new types of brakes and active dampers
for motor vehicles.
Sylvie Guigon – Atouts Bio Nr 4 – 2007, March
* LIST : Laboratory for Integration of Systems and Technologies.
> RHEOLOGY: Branch of mechanics
concerned with the study of flows
in liquids and related deformation
phenomena.
SCHIZOPHRENIA
© CEA/Inserm-GBF
Since they created the first “model” schizophrenic
mouse in 2002, pharmacologists from the
CEA and INSERM have been making one
discovery after another, the reward! The
reward being an alternative to existing
schizophrenia therapies. They observed an
improvement in the animal's behavior after
administering the epithilone D molecule,
an anticancer drug. In their efforts to find a
remedy, they focused on neurons rather than
the neurotransmitters involved in the disease
and currently treated by antipsychotic drugs.
In 2002, researchers found a link between
schizophrenia and cell microtubules for
the first time ever. They observed behavior
disorders in the animal if they deactivated
Compared with those of
a normal mouse (A), the
microtubules (shown in
green) of the neurons of a
schizophrenic mouse are
not stable (B) at 4 °C,
except when epothilone D
is present (C).
the expression of a protein
involved in microtubule
function. These disorders
were reflected in a lack of
social interaction or maternal
feeling, hyperlocomotion or
spatial memory problems.
In order to treat this schizophrenia, they turned
to molecules used in cancer treatment that
are capable of stabilizing microtubules. They
opted for epothilone D, one of the few
molecules that can penetrate the brain.
Administered at very low doses to prevent its
blocking action on cells (a trait common to
all anticancer drugs), it proved highly effective
in restoring synaptic functions with no adverse
side effects. This molecule has now been
patented and will soon be studied in humans.
Aude Ganier - Les Défis du CEA No. 122 – March 2007
> NEUROTRANSMITTERS:
Molecules that transmit information
from one neuron to another during
connections known as synapses.
> MICROTUBULES: Fibers along which
various components are routed from
one point of the neuron to another.
Between ten and three million years ago,
the tropical rain forests of East Africa
gradually gave way to savannah. What
brought about such a radical change
in the environment? Until recently,
paleoclimatologists thought the cause was
twofold: a drop in the CO2 level in the air
and cooler surface water in the Indian
Ocean. Today, a French team1, including
researchers from LSCE (Laboratory of
Climate and Environmental Sciences), a
joint CEA/CNRS/UVSQ laboratory2, has
discovered a third factor explaining this
change3: the upthrust of the East African
Rift System.
This extraordinary geological structure
saw a renewal in its activity 12 million
years ago. In response to tectonic activity,
the Earth's crust was raised before
collapsing in the center to create a
6,000 km long valley, bordered by hills,
plateaus and mountains ranging from
2,000 m to 5,000 m in height. A
phenomenon on such a scale as this must
have had an impact on the climate but
this impact on the climate, but had never
been quantified.
“
Transport of
moisture from east
to west or vice
versa depending
on the latitude
and season.
”
Turning the problem round
LSCE climatologists therefore teamed up
with paleontologists and geologists4 to
simulate the possible impact of the
emergence of the East African Rift. “In fact,
we turned the problem round,” says Pierre
Sepulchre, a member of the LSCE climate
modeling team. “We asked ourselves what
would happen if the Rift didn't exist? We used
the climate model developed by the Dynamic
Meteorology Laboratory to perform two digital
simulations. The first considered geological
structures only 2,000 m high and the second
at areas with no relief.”
The result left no room for doubt: the
flatter the region, the higher the
precipitation. Compared with today's
figures, the average annual rainfall rose
by 15%for the first simulation and by 40%
for the second, “The lack of relief allows the
Indian monsoon to progress farther into the
continent in winter and causes a moistureladen zonal flow between southern Sudan
and Ethiopia in summer,” explains Pierre
© CEA
ANTICANCER DRUGS TACKLE
A CLIMATIC UPHEAVAL
BROUGHT TO LIGHT
The emergency of the Rift contributed significantly
to the desiccation of East Africa, as can be seen in
these simulations of changes in moisture transport.
Sepulchre. This humidity results in heavy
rainfall that favors the development of
forests, as illustrated by vegetation models
based on climatic simulation. This goes
to show that the emergence of the East
African Rift really is a key factor in the
desiccation observed in East Africa during
this period.
Fabrice Demarthon
Les Défis du CEA No. 121 – February 2007
1. Paris Earth Physics Institute, European Institute
of the Sea in Brest, Human Paleontology
Laboratory of the University of Poitiers, LSCE.
2. University of Versailles-Saint-Quentin.
3. Science, vol. 313, 08.11.06, P. Sepulchre et al.;
research funded by the CNRS Eclipse
multidisciplinary program.
4. From the University of Poitiers, the Paris Earth
Physics Institute and the European Institute of
the Sea.
SUPERDOPED SILICON:
Superconducting silicon capable of conducting
electricity without the slightest resistance?
Microelectronics specialists would think it quite
a paradox!
Because that's exactly the material they use for its intrinsic
semiconducting powers to control the intensity and
direction of electric current. Yet a CNRS1/CEA2/University3
collaboration has come up with these results using silicon
that has undergone chemical treatment at ambient pressure.
As its superconductivity is only apparent at very low
temperatures (- 272.8 °C)4, its use should be restricted
to fundamental research laboratories, for testing theories
on nanostructure superconductivity, for example.
This result is still quite a performance!
“In the 1980s, researchers managed to make silicon a
superconducting material by subjecting it to tremendous
compression, but its crystalline structure was changed in
the process,” recalls CEA researcher Christophe Marcenat.
So he and his colleagues opted for a chemical process in
which silicon was “doped” through the gradual addition
of boron, gradually increasing its conducting power.
Until then, this process had always come up against the
inability of silicon to absorb large amounts of boron. “To
get round this problem, we used laser pulses to heat a silicon
film in an atmosphere of gas containing boron,” explains
Etienne Busterrret, a CNRS researcher. “These pulses also
force boron atoms inside the molten material where they
bind during recrystallization.” So superconductive doped
silicon isn't such a paradox after all!
Claire Abou - Les Défis du CEA No. 121 – February 2007
© J. Boulmer/CNRS
AN EXCELLENT CONDUCTOR
Adjusting the laser beam used to obtain silicon samples with more boron doping than that obtained through the
usual silicon microelectronics methods.
> SEMICONDUCTIVITY:
Intermediate electrical
conductivity between
that of metals and
insulators.
1. Laboratory for the Study of the Electronic Properties of Solids,
Grenoble.
2. Condensed Matter Fundamental Research Department, Grenoble.
3. Condensed Matter and Nanostructure Physics Laboratory, University
of Lyon 1 and CNRS; Basic Electronics Institute, University of ParisSud and CNRS.
4. Today's superconducting materials operate within the –273 °C to
–140°C temperature range.
200 MM MICROSYSTEMS LINE SEEKS DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS
CEA/LETI has invested in a 200 mm R&D line
dedicated to industrial partnerships in the microsystems
field for development, prototyping and preproduction.
It’s the ideal solution for creating new products faster
and at lower cost without investing too soon.
© P. Stroppa/CEA
1,000 square meters of clean rooms, specific equipment
worth €20 million available 24/7, teams of researchers
and technicians boasting 20 years of experience in
microsystems. That, in a nutshell, is what LETI is offering
industrial firms in Grenoble wishing to develop
components on 200 mm silicon wafers. “The microsystems
industry is still very customized,” observes Bruno Mourey,
in charge of the project at LETI. Everyone creates their own line (aboveIC or stand-alone) for niche markets at the cost of heavy investment
and long development times.“The aim, therefore, is to use LETI resources
and expertise to work faster and at a lower cost.”
The solution is based on the 200 mm format, which is not only tomorrow's
microsystems standard, but also and above all, the current standard on
a vast number of microelectronic production lines.
Collaboration projects lasting two to four years will be proposed to
people in industry. This is the time it takes to develop
lines (or set of processes), build prototypes, carry out
preproduction runs and, if the partners wish, transfer
the technology to their own production site. The platform
is intended for two types of partners. First, silicon
founders seeking new markets for their 200 mm facilities.
Second, manufacturers or end users, who see the
microsystem as an opportunity for differentiation and
innovation and who need development work to be
treated confidentially.
In all, LETI plans on working with six to ten companies
keen to invest in mass markets in various sectors, such
as mobile telephony, consumer products, motor vehicles
or industrial electronics. It will operate the equipment alone to ensure
that there are no “leaks” between projects and will allow each partner
access to its line. It is the only line dedicated to 200 mm microsystems
in Europe. Platform users will also have access to LETI's microelectronics
R&D resources as well as its other areas of expertise – characterization,
design, testing and materials – grouped together at the Minatec cluster.
CEA Technologies No. 83 – December 2006
Annual Report
CEA 2006
(french or english
version)
For the first time since the Atelier de Restauration (Restoration Workshop)
was created in 1970, the Nucleart Method – resin impregnation and gamma
irradiation – has been used abroad.
mentioned back in 2002.” Although
the INAH is a major preservation
and restoration center employing
some one hundred people,
including forty restorers, it has quite
modest technical resources.
The next thing to do was to prepare the
mission. Using Khôi Tran's diagrams and
photos, Alejandra was able to have
alterations made to a 40 l
pressure cooker made
in America. Other
adjustments had to be
made to the vacuum
pump, pressure gauges,
nitrogen cylinder, tubes
and fittings, irradiation
parameters, resin formulation – even the
power supply voltage (110 V in Mexico).
“But even after six months of preparation,
there were always surprises in store, like
the purple color of the impregnating resin.”
The irradiation treatment lasted 48 hours.
The consolidation of the sculpture was
satisfactory and the polychrome resisted
well, thereby minimizing the risk
of damage during exhibitions. “We
demonstrated that Nucleart technology can
be transferred, especially to emerging
countries,” stresses Khôi Tran. The process
is of particular interest in tropical
countries, where objects densified by
Nucleart will put up better resistance to
extreme variations in climate. For the
past year, Vietnamese archeologists have
called on ARC-Nucleart to preserve
waterlogged, wooden, archeological
objects on site.
© DR
“This Maya sculpture, discovered on the site
of Becan in Yucatan, is a unique
archeological object. It has also been
declared a national treasure,
so there was no question of it
leaving the country,”
explains Alejandra Alonso,
a restoration specialist at
the INAH, the Mexican
National Institute of
Anthropology and
History. The Nucleart
Method, developed at
the CEA center in
Grenoble, was chosen
for the renovation work.
“It seemed the most effective
way of halting any further
damage to this statuette, a dwarf only 20 cm
tall, whose body had suffered considerable
deterioration, with the wood flaking away
at the slightest touch.” It was therefore decided
that the first week of the mission1 would
be given over to treatment, with the second
week set aside for three conferences on
preservation and restoration processes for
dry and waterlogged wooden objects.
The Mayan statuette was first impregnated
with liquid styrene-polyester resin. It was
then packed in a special container and
taken under police escort to the industrial
irradiator located at the heart of the National
Institute for Nuclear Investigation, 40 km
outside Mexico City. This gamma irradiator
induces radioactive polymerization which
hardens the resin in the wood. Khôi Tran,
an ARC-Nucleart chemical engineer, is
working on something of a special agent's
mission. “Alejandra Alonso Olvera called me
at the beginning of 2006, asking me to come
to Mexico City to restore a dry, wooden sculpture
from the Maya period. This had first been
Marc Jary – Le mensuel de Grenoble – October 2006
1. The mission is fully funded by the Mexican
authorities.
Restoration at work
Organized every year by the CEA and the Association of French Mayors, the “Save the
Heritage” competition offers the five award-winning towns the chance to have their
works of art treated and restored by the ARC-Nucleart Laboratory at the CEA center
in Grenoble.
Les Défis du CEA No. 122 - March 2007
France-China Symposium
on Nuclear Energy
Regulations, Codes,
Standards and Qualification
© CEA
ARC-NUCLEART IN THE
LAND OF THE MAYAS
Rostrum during the Vice-Minister's speech. From left to
right: the Vice-Minister, Cyril Pinel of the ASN, the French
Ambassador to China, the Chief Executive Officer of the Chinese
nuclear safety authority.
The CEA and the Chinese Safety Authority held
the first “France-China Symposium on Nuclear
Energy Regulations, Codes, Standards and
Qualification” in Beijing on June 4-6, 2007.
China has recently decided to speed up the
development of its nuclear program (10 reactors
in service and 17 at various stages of testing,
construction and licensing); a number of players
will be involved: government authorities and
regulators, utilities, design institutes and industry.
France has completed a highly successful program.
One of the keys to success is the implementation
of a comprehensive set of regulations, codes and
standards addressing such subjects as supplier
qualification, equipment certification, on-site
inspection, etc.
The symposium provided an opportunity to
compare current French and Chinese regulations
and allowed government agencies, utilities, design
institutes and people from industry to share their
experience.
Some 300 people took part (including more than
200 Chinese). There were contributions from various
representatives of French industry and the IRSN
and some Chinese institutes. The Symposium was
chaired by Mr. LI Ganjie – Vice-Minister of SEPA,
Administrator of NNSA and Mr. André-Claude
Lacoste – President of the ASN.
Using hydrogen to produce
energy – a traveling exhibition
The depletion of petroleum resources is forcing us
to consider other options, especially renewable
energy sources. Among the possibilities, hydrogen
offers numerous advantages. It can be easily
(french and english version.
Russian version available on
line http://www-pmg8.cea.fr)
> These brochures are
available upon
request in paper
format or on line :
EXHIBITIONS
www.cea.fr
Transducers 07
ICAPP 2007
International Congress on Advances in Nuclear Power
Plants - “Nuclear Renaissance at Work.” - May 1318, 2007 • Nice Acropolis, France
The CEA participated in the 2007 ICAPP
international conference on progress in nuclear
power plants, covering design, construction,
operation, and maintenance. This professional
gathering brought together the most important
international stakeholders in the electronuclear
industry around the theme of “nuclear renaissance”.
It was an occasion for the Nuclear Energy Division
of the CEA to present its research and development
milestones in several areas and to co-chair the
plenary session dedicated to nuclear systems of
the future. The papers presented by the CEA
addressed the following areas:
• Research to optimize existing industrial nuclear
facilities and development of third-generation
systems (optimization of fuels and plant life
spans, better procedures for spent fuel processing,
advanced methods of computer simulation, etc.)
• The CEA's commitment to the nuclear systems
of the future (strategy and planning for sodiumcooled fast reactors, materials and fuel
Following the conference, the participants toured the
CEA's Marcoule and Cadarache centers.They visited
certain advanced facilities for nuclear research, such
as Atalante, a large laboratory dedicated to actinide
chemistry, and Tore Supra, a tokamak for fusion
energy studies.
The 20th World Energy
Congress & Exhibition
is promoted by the World
Energy Council (WEC*)
TRANSDUCERS 07 was
held in Lyon, France,
2007, June 10-14
This is the most authoritative international energy
meeting, to be held in Rome in the new “Nuova
Fiera” venue, November 11-15, 2007. Excellent
speakers and thousands of participants will come
from all over the world. Besides the World Energy
Council Members, the Congress will welcome
exhibitors from both energy producing and
consuming countries, institutions, international
organizations and energy industry representatives,
researchers and experts from all over the world,
and all those who are interested in energy and
development issues. During the four-day meeting,
participants will have the chance to visit an
interesting and important exhibition covering
20,000 m2 at the “Nuova Fiera”. Companies
will have a great opportunity to present their
products and technological innovations for the
energy industry to an international and
distinguished audience.
Visiatome
The Visiatome is located in Southern France in
Marcoule, not far from Nîmes. This scientific
cultural center was created to inform the public
and answer questions related to radioactivity and
its applications, the various sources of energy,
radioactive waste management, and the nuclear
industry in general.
© C. Dupont/CEA
produced from any primary energy source (solar,
wind, nuclear, etc.) and used in a “fuel cell” to
generate high yields of electricity and heat, with
water as its only waste product!
To raise awareness about this important technology,
the Palais de la Découverte, a science museum in
Paris, has created a traveling exhibition (first stop
in Berlin at the Technikmuseum, from May 24th
to July 24th, 2007, then on to the Visiatome before
the end of the year). The exhibition covers all the
steps studied at the CEA: production of electricity
using photovoltaic panels, production of hydrogen
by electrolysis, storage and retrieval of electrical
energy using fuel cells. To illustrate how the
research works, the exhibition uses prototypes
and laboratory equipment, including the Genepac
fuel cell, metal plates, graphite plates and
membranes, along with an educational pack about
fuel cells.
As part of its renovation project, the Palais de la
Découverte will present a stationary version of
this exhibition in Paris.
TRANSDUCERS has grown into the largest
multidisciplinary conference on microsensors,
microactuators, and microsystems, with typically
900 attendees from government and industry who
gather every two years to share information on
the latest advances in the field. This year, the
technical program consisted of parallel oral sessions
and poster presentations. Invited speakers
(including researchers from LETI, the CEA
laboratory of electronics and information
technology) gave insightful
overviews on key topics
during the plenary session
and throughout the
conference, which also
included short courses and
exhibitions.
The 600-m2 site offers fun, interactive exhibitions
addressing all these questions. Educational sessions
are available to school groups, and scientific
activities are offered Wednesday afternoons,
Sundays, and during school vacations.
© CEA
© CEA
innovations, and new options for the back end
of the fuel cycle and waste management)
Finally, this conference allowed several major
nuclear actors abroad (USA, Japan, Russia, China,
South Korea, etc.) to share their vision of the
nuclear renaissance.
© P. Stroppa/CEA
G8 Global Partnership
Activity report
2004-2005-2006
*With several Member Committees in over 90 countries, WEC
aims to monitor the status of the energy industry and find
solutions fostering the economic development of both industrialized
and developing countries. It also promotes the sustainable supply
and usage of energy for the greatest benefit of all people.
> Practical info
Visiatome - CEA Marcoule - BP 64172
30207 Bagnols-sur-Cèze cedex
www.visiatome.fr
To learn more: Tel: +33 (0)4 66 39 78 78
[email protected]
Reservations: Tel: +33 (0)4 66 39 78 78
Fax: +33 (0)4 66 39 78 30
[email protected]
CEA EMBASSY
COUNSELOR NETWORK
BERLIN
Jean-Marc CAPDEVILA
[email protected]
HELSINKI
Claude SAINTE-CATHERINE
[email protected]
BUDAPEST
Gérard COGNET
[email protected]
MOSCOU
Denis FLORY
[email protected]
LONDRES
Alain REGENT
[email protected]
NEW-DELHI
Hugues de LONGEVIALLE
[email protected]
WASHINGTON
Jacques FIGUET
[email protected]
SEOUL
Jean-Yves DOYEN
[email protected]
BRUSSELS - EU
Guillaume GILLET
[email protected]
TOKYO
Pierre-Yves Cordier
[email protected]
PARIS
CEA Headquarters
[email protected]
VIENNA - AIEA
Marc-Gérard ALBERT
[email protected]
BEIJING
Alain TOURNYOL du CLOS
[email protected]
w w w. c e a . f r
More information: [email protected]

CEA News sept. 2007

Transcription

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