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Major Research Facilities

The strength of the Physics Department is complemented by eight major research facilities:

cesr.jpgCornell Electron Storage Ring (CESR)
The CESR accelerator collides circulating beams of electrons and positrons with energies between 1.8 and 5.3 GeV. CESR has long been the source of e+e- collisions for the CLEO particle physics experiment and the CHESS x-ray facility. With CLEO data-taking complete, the focus is now on conducting experiments in accelerator physics and on providing beams for x-ray science. For the accelerator experiments, CESR is being transformed to study the properties of tightly collimated (”low emittance”) beams. Such beams will be required by the International Linear Collider, a future high energy e+e- collider–but to date, no accelerator facility has achieved beams of the necessary quality. The CESR Test Accelerator Project is working to explore the underlying physics and develop techniques for achieving the required beam characteristics. CESR is located in Wilson Laboratory on the east end of the Cornell campus, and along with x-ray science and the particle physics program, is one of the pillars of the Cornell Laboratory for Accelerator-based Sciences and Education (CLASSE). Visit the CESR website.

chess.jpgCornell High Energy Synchrotron Source (CHESS)
CHESS provides high-intensity x-rays to both a national user community and researchers at Cornell for use in determining the structure and dynamics of materials in a wide range of scientific fields. X-ray diffraction is used to understand the growth modes of metal thin films used for making electronic devices, the defects in protein crystals, the motion of charge-density waves in quasi-1-dimensional metals and the dynamics by which polymer materials self-assemble into controlled structures. New regimes of study are being opened with the development of high-speed area detectors for measuring time-dependent phenomena with x-rays, as well as entirely new sources of more brilliant x-rays. CHESS is part of CLASSE and is located in Wilson Laboratory. Visit the CHESS website.

classe.jpgCornell Laboratory for Accelerator-based Sciences and Education (CLASSE)
The Cornell Laboratory for Accelerator-based Sciences and Education provides facilities for experimental particle physics and accelerator physics. These facilities include clean rooms and cryogenic tools for the fabrication and chartacterization of superconducting RF cavities and other larger instruments. There are also facilities for computing and for software development for large, widely distributed data sets, such as those anticipated at the energy-frontier LHC particle accelerator.

ccmr.jpgCornell Center for Materials Research (CCMR)
The Center for Materials Research supports interdisciplinary projects that include such themes as: controlling electrons at interfaces, photonic building blocks from multiscale materials, growth of complex materials and atomic membranes as molecular interfaces. Its Materials Laboratory is equipped with thin film deposition equipment (e-beam, laser ablation, etc.), STM/AFM microscopes and optical/infrared spectrometers. The center also supports an Ion Beam Analytical Facility, X-Ray Diffraction Facility, UHV STEM Laboratory, Polymer Characterization Facility and a Research Computing Facility. Visit the CCMR website.

cns.jpgCornell Center for Nanoscale Systems in Information Technologies (CNS)
The CNS supports interdisciplinary research thrusts in the areas of silicon and carbon nanoelectronics, nanomagnetics, nanophotonics, and nanocharacterization and nanoprocessing. The Center supports a shared facility for high-speed and high-frequency electrical and optical measurements. Visit the CNS website.

nbtc.jpgNanobiotechnology Center (NBTC)
NBTC is a highly interdisciplinary NSF-funded center featuring close collaboration between life scientists, physical scientists and engineers, exploring the emerging areas of scientific and technological opportunities that integrate nano/microfabrication and biosystems to the benefit of both. Visit the NBTC website.

cnf.jpgCornell NanoScale Science & Technology Facility (CNF)
CNF is a national center for fabrication of micro- and nanostructures for applications throughout all of science and engineering. Here, physicists and other scientists, engineers and expert technicians make devices of metals, semiconductors and insulators of dimensions measured in nanometers. Fabrication techniques include the most advanced methods of thin film processing, electron beam and optical lithography, etching, film deposition and characterization.  Visit the CNF website.

ctc.jpgCornell University Center for Advanced Computing (CAC)
The Cornell Center for Advanced Computing helps physics faculty and graduate student researchers accelerate scientific discoveries with high-performance computing, application and data storage solutions. CAC plays an important role in the simulations of complex materials, relativistic quantum field theories, black holes and galaxy formation, high-energy particle accelerators and the analysis of data from the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. Visit the Cornell CAC website.

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