The project THz-FRaScan-ESR (GA 714850) started successfully on 1st January 2018 at the Central European Institute of Technology (CEITEC) at the Brno University of Technology (BUT). Because the Principal Investigator was employed at the Universität Stuttgart (USTUTT) in Germany, a relocation to Brno, Czech Republic was necessary. It was one of the reasons for postponing the project start by one year (instead of 1st January 2017). The necessity for construction adjustments of laboratories in the Host Institution along with longer than anticipated purchase and tender processes also contributed to the postponed start of the project.
As a part of the project, we constructed and equipped new laboratories, the THz spectroscopy laboratory and the chemistry laboratory, where the project took place. We recruited PhD students and postdocs working on the project in the first year based on public open calls. Furthermore, three PhD students had already successfully completed their PhD studies and found postdoctoral positions in well know ESR and chemistry laboratories in USA and Europe; four more PhD defences are planned for 2023.
There are no significant deviations from the original proposal. However, some components to successfully complete WP1 according to the original plan had been delayed and we faced technical challenges which were successfully overcome. The FRaScan spectrometer is assembled and put into operation. To facilitate and enable measurements of different sample types, a set of sample holders was designed and fabricated. We have demonstrated the feasibility of THz frequency rapid scans in accessing the electron spin relaxation times in a broad magnetic field range on different sample types as it was planned in work packages 2 and 3, and the work is still in progress through new grants obtained thanks to the established laboratory and spectrometer during this project. The work was disseminated in many opportunities both to the general public and to the scientific community: an international workshop and two international summer schools, including the prestigious school of the European Federation of ESR groups (EFEPR), several news and magazines articles, including an interview on the Czech TV, and many scientific publications with open access to the community.
