Correlated Ion elecTRon fOr Nanoscience

Project Information

CITRON

Grant agreement ID: 101055250

DOI

10.3030/101055250

EC signature date 12 August 2022

Start date 1 January 2023

End date 31 December 2027

Funded under

• European Research Council (ERC)

Total cost

€ 3 325 441,00

EU contribution

€ 3 325 441,00

Coordinated by

CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE CNRS
France

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - CITRON (Correlated Ion elecTRon fOr Nanoscience)

Reporting period: 2023-01-01 to 2025-06-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Many applications rely on extreme miniaturization, which imposes to control the energy, the number and the locations of electrons or ions at the nanometric level.
The European Research Council-funded CITRON project plans to harness the simultaneous production, coincident detection and fast control of both ions and electrons in a bid to enhance ion and electron beam properties. Specifically, the team will use laser excitation of neutral atomic species for simultaneous ion and electron production with coincidence detection, to achieve breakthroughs in monochromatic and focused ion and electron beams. CITRON’s work will enable nanometric control for surface and materials science applications.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

Development of Correlated Ion-Electron Sources (FIBback – WP1)

Significant progress has been made in advancing the FIBback system, which enhances ion beam performance through electron feedback control. Computational simulations, confirmed the feasibility of electron collection, a crucial component. As a result, new electrode designs have been finalized. This marks a critical step toward implementation, ensuring that future experiments can benefit from enhanced beam control. Additionally, an upcoming scientific publication will detail the extensive simulations performed to validate key aspects of this system. This work mainly involved PhD Students (Clelia Bastelica, paid by another contract, and soon Thomas Roy) and post-doc (Azer Trimeche)

High-Precision Ion Implantation System (IMPLANTION – WP2)

The project has also laid the groundwork for a universal high-precision ion implantation system. A theoretical study on femtosecond cesium ionization has started. Extensive simulation using Simion program have beed done validating all hypothesis done in the project to reach <10nm implantation. This work is mainly performed by Daniel Morvan as PhD Student.

Advancing High-Resolution Electron Energy Loss Microscopy (HREELM – WP3)

The HREELM setup has undergone a major upgrade to improve electron imaging capabilities. With: Replacement of the optical table to enhance experimental stability, Start of electrode design simulations, particularly for the time-of-flight analysis, Integration of a new electron gun (from Kimball physics) and sample holder (from UHV design) into the main chamber, setting the stage for the first experiments with pulsed electron sources. After all this the expriment is having a new start with the parallel design of the full machine by Kimball Physics and Electron Optica. This work is mainly performed by Florent Vallee as PhD Student and now also by Roba Moussaoui (post-doc paid by another contract especially to work with th Timepix detectors)

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

For now I would not claim any breakthroughs or advances beyond state-of-the-art because we are still building all the apparatus. However substantial advance studies have been performed, thanks to extensive simulations, that confirm the feasibilities.