Category: News EN

Antonio Carabillò, Production and R&D Manager at Eurolls S.p.A., recently received his industrial doctorate from the University of Udine.

His research activity, aimed at the optimisation of PVD coatings on rolling and profiling rolls, testifies to the potential of a long and fruitful collaboration between academia and industry that involves not only the University of Udine, but also Eurolls S.p.A. and the INFN National Laboratories of Legnaro.

Eurolls is a company specialising in the manufacture of products and services for the tube and wire processing industry that, from the province of Friuli, has been able to expand by opening new production sites around the world.

Its relationship with INFN began in 2016, when the company’s management realised that to remain competitive in the global market it was necessary to be technologically advanced, and found in INFN the ideal interlocutor for its needs. Thus was born a technological research project dedicated to the study of anti-wear PVD coatings on rolling rolls and the creation of a prototype deposition machine that could be used for industrial research.

The project is a success and triggers other forms of collaboration and transfer not only of technology, but also of knowledge: Carabillò, in fact, is hired in Eurolls’ research and development department after completing a master’s degree in Surface Treatments for Industrial Applications organised by the University of Padua and INFN, and the company itself becomes a sponsor of the subsequent editions of the master’s degree, the training value of which it possesses. At the same time, joint research activities continue through the R4I Multi Rolls project financed by the INFN, which aims to optimise PVD techniques to create wear-resistant multilayer coatings on rolling rolls.

This PhD represents the culmination of a success story that, starting from a commissioned research project, has allowed a company to expand its technology portfolio, introducing new products and gaining global competitiveness and, at the same time, has allowed INFN to carry out its technology transfer mission, enhancing its knowledge and technologies through important industrial and local spin-offs.

Giacomo De Angelis, researcher at the INFN Legnaro National Laboratories, was awarded the title of Doctor Honoris Causa by the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences for his excellent contributions and for the development of nuclear physics in Bulgaria. The ceremony took place on Friday 11 October 2024 in Sofia. The award was presented by the President of the academy, Dr. Julian Revalski (in photo together with our colleague Dr. Giacomo De Angelis).

More info

In June 2024, after concluding an extensive experimental campaign, PIAVE-ALPI superconductive accelerator reached outstanding performance levels. Main points for this achievement were the integration of advanced AI (Artificial Intelligence) with ML (Machine Learning) techniques, Bayesian optimization algorithms and particle swarm optimization algorithms. These complex algorithms played an essential role in parameters optimization of accelerator configuration such as cavities phases, longitudinal and transverse optics, resulting in remarkable accelerator performance improvements and in the halving of accelerator setting time.

ALPI overall transmission reached values of 85% (in figure: First high current Xe beam was accelerated into ALPI with 85% global transmission), very near to 93% theoretical maximum transmission and significantly higher than 35% reached in the previous decades.

Essential for this record were improvements implemented on ECR ion source, on RF system, on alignment system, on cryostats, on control system and on beam diagnostics, but above all the huge teamwork carried out by three LNL divisions.

After a period of maintenance and repair of various components of the cyclotron, including the refurbishment of the ion source and the RF amplifiers, the first proton beams were produced and delivered to experimental study of medical radioisotope production. After the optimization of the new transport line recently installed at the Legnaro National Laboratories, the cyclotron was optimized for three different proton energies: 35 MeV, 50 MeV and 70 MeV. After each optimization the proton beam was used to irradiate thin targets of different materials. In particular, the image shows the gamma spectrum of a natural Zn target irradiated at an energy of 50 MeV, which allowed the observation of the gamma-decay of the theranostic radionuclide Cu-67 (see picture: First irradiation for the production of Cu-67 within the SPES project).

With the achievement of this important milestone, the Phase 1 of the SPES project is successfully completed. This has been made possible in a relatively short time thanks to the phased approach for the project implementation and the full commitment of all the laboratory’s divisions.

On Monday June 17th, the Director of the Legnaro National Laboratories, Prof. Faïçal Azaiez, visited the site of the European Spallation Source (ESS) in Lund.

Andrea Pisent, technical coordinator of INFN contribution to ESS, Francesco Grespan, who led the construction and installation of the Drift Tube Linac at ESS, and Carlo Baltador, researcher at INFN-LNL, were also present.

The visit of the LNL Director has taken place one year after the conclusion of the high power test of the Drift Tube Linac up to 74 MeV and it immediately precedes the restart of the accelerator, which starting from next July will complete the commissioning of the fifth DTL cavity and of the Superconducting Linac.

Håkan Danared, head of ESS accelerator division, guided the director in the visit of the accelerator, while Kevin Jones, Technical Director of ESS, guided the tour to Target and Detectors.

INFN contributes to the construction of the ESS linac with the injector, developed by the Southern National Laboratories, the intermediate energy superconducting elliptical cavities, made by the INFN Milano Unit and the five tanks of the Drift Tube Linac, designed and developed by the researchers of the INFN Legnaro National Laboratories and Turin Unit.

The ESS DTL will be the most powerful Drift Tube Linac in the world and constitutes the largest part of the ESS accelerator tested so far and brought to nominal performance. The results achieved in the ESS project demonstrate once more the ability of LNL and INFN to develop very high technology structures with full control of times and costs, the effectiveness of the teamwork between INFN structures and industrial partners in a large international collaboration.