8th EIROforum School on Instrumentation

13 May 2024, 08:00 → 17 May 2024, 17:30 Europe/Berlin

tbc (ESO/EUROfusion Garching (Germany))

João Figueiredo (EUROfusion), Sebastian Egner (ESO)

The next EIROforum School on Instrumentation (ESI) will take place at ESO and EUROfusion in    Garching, Germany from 13 to 17 May 2024. 

The scientific programme of ESI addresses all aspects of scientific instrumentation related to the missions of the EIROforum organisations. 

This free event is open to all, registration closes on 29 February.

ESI is a biennial event, jointly organised by the Instrumentation Working Group of the EIROforum organisations (EMBL, ESA, ESO, ESRF, EUROfusion, CERN, ILL, European XFEL), which aims to teach the basic principles of instrumentation to young engineers and researchers (PhD students, postdocs). 

This edition's highlights consist in a visit to the ASDEX Upgrade nuclear fusion reactor and keynote lectures on ‘Developing for the future - Benefits of science to society from creativity to innovation’.

The school consists of short lectures from top EIRO scientists covering both theory and practical examples and hands-on sessions for a variety of instrumentation-related topics:

• Detector Design (Sensor Technologies and Front-end Electronics)
• Radiation Damage
• Control, Data Acquisition, and high data volumes
• Machine Learning and Image processing
• Environmental conditions and sensors
• Optics
• Synchronisation systems
• System Integration and Instrument Design

The next EIROforum School on Instrumentation (ESI) will take place at ESO and EUROfusion in    Garching, Germany from 13 to 17 May 2024. 

The scientific programme of ESI addresses all aspects of scientific instrumentation related to the missions of the EIROforum organisations. 

This free event is open to all, registration closes on 29 February.

ESI is a biennial event, jointly organised by the Instrumentation Working Group of the EIROforum organisations (EMBL, ESA, ESO, ESRF, EUROfusion, CERN, ILL, European XFEL), which aims to teach the basic principles of instrumentation to young engineers and researchers (PhD students, postdocs). 

This edition's highlights consist in a visit to the ASDEX Upgrade nuclear fusion reactor and keynote lectures on ‘Developing for the future - Benefits of science to society from creativity to innovation’.

The school consists of short lectures from top EIRO scientists covering both theory and practical examples and hands-on sessions for a variety of instrumentation-related topics:

• Detector Design (Sensor Technologies and Front-end Electronics)
• Radiation Damage
• Control, Data Acquisition, and high data volumes
• Machine Learning and Image processing
• Environmental conditions and sensors
• Optics
• Synchronisation systems
• System Integration and Instrument Design

List of recommended accommodation.docx

Monday, 13 May

08:00 → 09:00 Registration

09:00 → 09:15 Welcome to ESI 2023

09:15 → 09:30 EIROforum introduction

09:30 → 10:30 Machine Learning and Image Processing

09:30 The assumptions behind Machine Learning

This introduction focuses on a scientific perspective of Machine Learning, in which the fundamental mathematics and statistics behind Machine Learning is emphasized together with the assumptions made through them. Such a theory-based perspective leads to a view emphasizing uncertainties and the interpretability of the mathematical model produced.

Speaker: Danilo Enoque Ferreira de Lima (XFEL)

10:00 Computer Vision for Machine Protection in Nuclear Fusion

Speaker: Mr Bartłomiej Jabłoński (Lodz University of Technology)

10:30 → 11:00 Coffee break

11:00 → 12:30 Control, Data acquisition and high data volumes

11:00 BLISS (Beamline control system)

BLISS (BeamLine Instrumentation Support Software) is the new ESRF experiment control system that will be used to run the beamlines after the ESRF Extremely Brilliant Source upgrade (ESRF-EBS).BLISS provides a holistic approach to synchrotron experiments control. The scope of the project goes from hardware control up to the end-user interface. It is built as a modular pile of frameworks, that are orchestrated from one single command-line interface for users to be able to run their own custom scripts.

The BLISS programming language is Python and can therefore be easily embedded into any Python application, paving the way for advanced data management and online data analysis.

Speaker: Jens Meyer (ESRF)

11:30 Karabo: Scientific Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition - Automation and High Data Rates

In this lecture the challenges for control systems and data acquisition at large scientific facilities are introduced, using the European XFEL, and the Karabo Control System, as an example. We will cover experiment operation through asynchronous Python control software, and how large data volumes in the tens of gigabytes per second regime can be processed online and persisted.

Speaker: Steffen Hauf

12:00 NOMAD – More Than a Simple Sequencer

In this lecture NOMAD, the instrument control and data acquisition system at ILL, will be described. The software architecture and its functionalities will be described as well as all the possibilities offered to interact with the experiments both locally and from remote. The integration of the instrument control with automatic data reduction and machine learning for autonomous measurements will also be discussed.

Speaker: P. Mutti (ILL)

12:30 → 14:00 Lunch

14:00 → 15:30 "Hands-on" session

This is an interactive workshop where the students try various approaches and make their own judgements on what is "good" and "bad" in presentations. Many of the participants will have the opportunity to present things in front of the audience. No advance preparation is needed.

14:00 → 15:30 "Hands-on" session: CAD++

This is an interactive workshop where the students try various approaches and make their own judgements on what is "good" and "bad" in presentations. Many of the participants will have the opportunity to present things in front of the audience. No advance preparation is needed.

Convener: Karol Rapacz (CERN)

15:30 → 16:00 Coffee break

16:00 → 18:30 Poster Session: Flash oral presentations

Tuesday, 14 May

09:00 → 10:30 System integration and instrument design

09:00 ESRF Double Crystal Monochromator - How mechatronic can enhance the performance of X-Ray optical system

The ESRF has designed and developed a Double Crystal Monochromator (ESRF-DCM) to enable several spectroscopy beamlines to exploit the full potential of the ESRF-EBS, in particular the capability to perform fast and accurate energy scanning. To reach concomitant beam positioning accuracy and stability, particular attention has been paid to mechanical and thermal stability, which has imposed the implementation of several innovative design concepts. The extremely challenging specifications of the ESRF DCM necessitate not only high precision mechanical design, but also a mechatronic system enabling active correction of the parallelism between first and second crystals. Online metrology has been implemented, associated with a controller capable of real-time signal processing. From the scientist's initial request, the purpose of this presentation is to give an overview of the ESRF DCM design principles, integration and operating modes, showing how the calibration process is performed on the beamline, using x-rays and associated instrumentation, and will explain the working principle of the active correction mode.

Speaker: Ludovic Ducotte (ESRF)

09:30 Design and verification basics for space instrumentation

In this short lecture, ESA experts are introducing the basic steps to developing instrumentation for space from the early design phase to later assembly, integration and verification phase.

Speakers: Fabrice Cipriani (ESA), Thibaut Prod’homme (ESA)

10:00 ESO Cryogenics

To reduce the thermal background or the noise in the detectors, scientific instruments frequently need to be operated at cryogenic conditions at or below 80 K. The combination of low temperature and vacuum creates an environment, which is very different from the typically lab environment and thus mandates a different approach in the design of the mechanics, optics and mechanisms. This talk will give an introduction to the physics of cryogenics and present the technologies and techniques required to develop instruments operating at these conditions.

Speaker: Gerd Jakob (ESO)

10:30 → 11:00 Coffee break

11:00 → 12:30 System integration and instrument design

11:00 Integration challenges in collider detectors for particle physics: the examples of the CMS experiment Tracker and High-Granularity Calorimeter for High-Luminosity LHC operation

Detectors for particle-physics experiments should, ideally, cover the full solid angle around the collision point and have zero superfluous material or gaps in coverage. Of course, the real world is far from this perfection. We present some of the challenges of designing and building particle detectors to try to come close to this ideal, using two ongoing detector developments for the Compact Muon Solenoid experiment (CMS) as examples: the silicon Tracker and the High-Granularity Calorimeter. We show how the challenges require a collaborative effort between mechanical engineers, electronic engineers, physicists and technicians.

Speaker: Karol Rapacz (CERN)

11:30 Experimental stations for synchrotron radiation beamlines

I will give an overview of the design of experiment stations used at ESRF. I will explain how instruments combining mechanical, metrology, control and optical systems can be build to examine samples submitted to X-rays beam. I will focus on the mechanical design principles, the metrology system used to control the sample position and the correction of guiding errors of stages. Examples from various ESRF beamlines will be used to illustrate the presentation.

Speaker: François Villar (ESRF)

12:00 Vitrifying biological samples for cryo-imaging experiments

Preparing biological samples for cryo-imaging applications requires fine control of cooling rate and sample thickness. I will present our latest instrumentation developments aimed at vitrifying purified protein solutions and cells for subsequent cryo-imaging experiments. Our automated machine comprises a plasma generation module to render the sample support hydrophilic, picoliter drop dispenser heads to deliver the biological sample onto the sample support, and a liquid ethane jet for rapid freezing of the specimen. After vitrification, the samples are stored in cryogenic conditions using cold nitrogen gas.

Speaker: Gergely Papp (EMBL)

12:30 → 13:30 Lunch

13:30 → 14:30 Poster session

14:30 → 16:10 Radiation damage

14:30 Introduction to radiation effects in electronics and detectors

Following a short overview of the effects of radiation on materials (absorbed dose, non-ionizing effects, single-event effects) we give some examples of how these things can be evaluated and mitigated in particle-physics applications.

Speaker: Giulio Borghello (CERN)

15:10 Electronics reliability in the nuclear fusion radiation environment of tokamaks

We give a brief overview of tokamaks, their electronics and their radiation environment. Then we present the main effects of these radiations on electronics, with emphasis on neutron-induced SEEs. We then explain how to ensure the reliability of electronics in the radiation environment of tokamaks. Finally, we present the studies carried out on this subject in the JET tokamak during the 2023 deuterium-tritium plasma pulse campaign during which a new world energy record for controlled fusion energy was established.

Speaker: Martin Dentan (IRFM, CEA – Centre de Cadarache)

15:40 The JUICE spacecraft and its instrumentation: overview and challenges

Jupiter’s radiation environment is one the harshest in the solar system, discover how JUICE - ESA’s recently launched mission to Jupiter was prepared for it, with a focus on the large and unprecedently sensitive payload suite designed to survive for a 4-year journey around Jupiter and its moons.

Speaker: Fabrice Cipriani (ESA)

16:10 → 16:30 Coffee break

16:30 → 18:00 "Hands-on" session: CAD++

This is an interactive workshop where the students try various approaches and make their own judgements on what is "good" and "bad" in presentations. Many of the participants will have the opportunity to present things in front of the audience. No advance preparation is needed.

16:30 → 18:00 "Hands-on" session: Making engaging presentations

This is an interactive workshop where the students try various approaches and make their own judgements on what is "good" and "bad" in presentations. Many of the participants will have the opportunity to present things in front of the audience. No advance preparation is needed.

Convener: Dave Barney (CERN)

18:00 → 20:00 Reception and Planetarium Show

Wednesday, 15 May

09:00 → 10:00 Project Day: Rapid prototyping

Conventional idea generation tools are often lacking in flexibility and in ease of communicating and critically evaluating the ideas. The amount of available techniques is abundant, but they are often complicated to apply. We have aimed to address the problems reported by the industry with a new method for effective idea generation and evaluation, Product Development Project in 4 hours (PD4) workshop. The focus of the workshop is on the communication and evaluation of ideas. Instead of teaching any specific method, participants are encouraged to flexibly use multiple techniques and adapt them for the individual needs of the situation.

Convener: Vikki Eriksson (Aalto)

10:00 → 10:30 Coffee Break

10:30 → 11:30 Project Day: Rapid prototyping

Conventional idea generation tools are often lacking in flexibility and in ease of communicating and critically evaluating the ideas. The amount of available techniques is abundant, but they are often complicated to apply. We have aimed to address the problems reported by the industry with a new method for effective idea generation and evaluation, Product Development Project in 4 hours (PD4) workshop. The focus of the workshop is on the communication and evaluation of ideas. Instead of teaching any specific method, participants are encouraged to flexibly use multiple techniques and adapt them for the individual needs of the situation.

Convener: Vikki Eriksson (Aalto)

11:30 → 12:30 Lunch

12:30 → 13:30 Creativity in science

It is creativity/novelty that drives scientific breakthroughs and societal progress, but the journey from a novel scientific idea to a practical solution can be long and winding. Debates also persist regarding whether and how science contributes to practical solutions. In this talk, I will explore the complex relationship between novelty and impact in science and technological innovation. Furthermore, I will examine concerns that the current science funding system is increasingly risk-averse and favours short-term, safe projects over long-term, risky and novel projects. I will also present empirical evidence about whether major funding agencies are biased against novelty in their project selection process, and whether receiving funding enables grantees to engage more in novel research. Finally, I will discuss strategies that scientists can use to boost creativity, such as how to structure the professor-PhD student relationship, collaboration teams, and broader collaboration networks.

Convener: Jian Wang

13:30 → 14:30 Project Day: Rapid prototyping

Conventional idea generation tools are often lacking in flexibility and in ease of communicating and critically evaluating the ideas. The amount of available techniques is abundant, but they are often complicated to apply. We have aimed to address the problems reported by the industry with a new method for effective idea generation and evaluation, Product Development Project in 4 hours (PD4) workshop. The focus of the workshop is on the communication and evaluation of ideas. Instead of teaching any specific method, participants are encouraged to flexibly use multiple techniques and adapt them for the individual needs of the situation.

Convener: Vikki Eriksson (Aalto)

14:30 → 15:00 Coffee Break

15:00 → 16:30 Project Day: Rapid prototyping

Conventional idea generation tools are often lacking in flexibility and in ease of communicating and critically evaluating the ideas. The amount of available techniques is abundant, but they are often complicated to apply. We have aimed to address the problems reported by the industry with a new method for effective idea generation and evaluation, Product Development Project in 4 hours (PD4) workshop. The focus of the workshop is on the communication and evaluation of ideas. Instead of teaching any specific method, participants are encouraged to flexibly use multiple techniques and adapt them for the individual needs of the situation.

Convener: Vikki Eriksson (Aalto)

Thursday, 16 May

09:00 → 10:30 Optics

09:00 ESO Optics

Optics is a fundamental part of many scientific instruments in the natural sciences. The underlying physical principles are usually defining the concept and driving the design of such instruments. Additionally, due to the material properties, developing an optical design is often a non-continuous optimization problem. In this presentation, we will give an overview of the principles of optics as required for optical and infrared instruments. This includes basics of optical design, manufacturing, and integration of optical elements in instruments such as imagers, spectrometers and integral-field-unit

Speaker: Johan Kosmalski (ESO)

09:30 X-ray Optics at accelerator-based light sources

X-ray optics are used at synchrotron radiation (SR) sources to tailor the X-ray beam characteristics to the needs of the experiment. Such optics can modify the transmitted X-ray spectrum, beam size and divergence, coherence and polarisation. Due to the diversity of experimental techniques implemented in typical light sources, the optical design is usually specific to each beamline and can draw upon an extensive ‘toolbox’ of X-ray optics allowing the performance to be optimised for each application. This presentation will give an overview of the principals of operation of the most common X-ray optics used at synchrotron radiation-based light sources such as the ESRF and present their essential characteristics.

At modern SR sources, some of the more challenging aspects of the optical design are the management of the absorbed X-ray beam power on the upstream optical components and the implementation of focusing systems capable of producing X-ray beams of nanometric dimensions. Some of the technological solutions and latest developments in response to these specific challenges will be presented.

Speaker: Ray Barrett (ESRF)

10:00 Neutron Optics

Neutron optics are widely used in neutron scattering instrumentation to define beam properties at the sample position (direction, divergence, energy, resolution, polarization, etc…). Since the primary neutron flux is low, neutron optical devices have to be highly efficient. Main concepts and components for designing the optics of neutron instruments are presented. It includes reflection optics such as neutron guide and supermirrors but also diffraction optics with mosaic crystal monochromators and analyzers. Focusing devices are also dealt with in the presentation. Some examples of applications will be given, especially in the case of continuous neutron sources.

Speaker: Pierre Courtois (ILL)

10:30 → 11:00 Coffee break

11:00 → 12:00 "Hands-on" session: ML

This is an interactive workshop where the students try various approaches and make their own judgements on what is "good" and "bad" in presentations. Many of the participants will have the opportunity to present things in front of the audience. No advance preparation is needed.

11:00 → 12:00 "Hands-on" session: XFEL - Beamline automation

This is an interactive workshop where the students try various approaches and make their own judgements on what is "good" and "bad" in presentations. Many of the participants will have the opportunity to present things in front of the audience. No advance preparation is needed.

12:00 → 13:00 Poster Session

13:00 → 14:00 Lunch

14:00 → 17:00 Visit to IPP's Neutral Beam Test facility (TBC)

Participants of ESI24 will get the chance to see IPP's Neutral Beam test facility.

Friday, 17 May

09:00 → 10:20 Detector design (sensor technologies and front-end electronics)

09:00 Imaging Sensors For Space Applications

In this 20-min introduction to light detection from space the following topics will covered
Basic concepts behind the operation of imaging sensors
Detector technologies & specifications
Characterizing and modelling detectors

Speaker: Thibaut Prod’homme (ESA)

09:40 Tracking and calorimetry for particle physics

We present a brief introduction to two principle types of detector for use in particle-physics experiments: trackers and calorimeters. We show the basic principles and give examples of the most modern variants of these detectors being prepared for the next phase of operation at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, from around 2029.

Speaker: Dave Barney (CERN)

10:20 → 10:50 Coffee Break

10:50 → 11:50 Detector design (sensor technologies and front-end electronics)

10:50 MHz X-ray Imaging with Silicon Pixel Detectors

Speaker: Jolanta Sztuk Dambietz (XFEL)

11:20 Thermal neutron detection principles, front end readout and signal processing

The first part of the course will cover thermal neutron detection techniques in general, and a few specific physical readout techniques much used at the ILL in particular. X-Y readout, delay lines and resistive charge division will be handled. The second part will talk about the principles of resistive charge division and the noise concepts which play a role in the front-end electronics. A third part will tackle back-end digital processing techniques in charge division, and others, focusing on FPGA settings.

Speaker: Patrick Van Esch (ILL)

11:50 → 13:00 Lunch

13:00 → 13:45 "Hands-on" session: Beamline automation

This is an interactive workshop where the students try various approaches and make their own judgements on what is "good" and "bad" in presentations. Many of the participants will have the opportunity to present things in front of the audience. No advance preparation is needed.

13:00 → 13:45 "Hands-on" session: ML

This is an interactive workshop where the students try various approaches and make their own judgements on what is "good" and "bad" in presentations. Many of the participants will have the opportunity to present things in front of the audience. No advance preparation is needed.

13:45 → 14:15 Coffee Break

14:15 → 15:00 "Hands-on" session: Beamline automation

This is an interactive workshop where the students try various approaches and make their own judgements on what is "good" and "bad" in presentations. Many of the participants will have the opportunity to present things in front of the audience. No advance preparation is needed.

14:15 → 15:00 "Hands-on" session: ML

This is an interactive workshop where the students try various approaches and make their own judgements on what is "good" and "bad" in presentations. Many of the participants will have the opportunity to present things in front of the audience. No advance preparation is needed.

15:00 → 15:30 Closing