An ionization chamber with fast timing properties was built at CERN for measuring fission cross-sections of minor actinides at the n_TOF neutron beam. The design of this chamber and of the front-end electronics was optimized to match the innovative features of the n_TOF facility, in particular the high instantaneous neutron flux and low background. Micromegas (Micro-MEsh Gaseous Structure) detectors are gas detectors consisting of a stack of one ionization and one proportional chamber. A micromesh separates the two communicating regions, where two different electric fields establish respectively a charge drift and a charge multiplication regime. The n_TOF facility at CERN provides a white neutron beam (from thermal up to GeV neutrons) for neutron induced cross section measurements.

The Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) is a state-of-the-art particle detection technology utilized in the CMS experiment at CERN. It enhances the accuracy and resolution of muon measurements, playing a pivotal role in advancing our understanding of fundamental particle physics.

A good dozen different targets are available for ISOLDE, made of different materials and equipped with different kinds of ion-sources, according to the needs of the experiments. Each separator (GPS: general purpose; HRS: high resolution) has its own target. Because of the high radiation levels, robots effect the target changes, about 80 times per year. In the standard unit shown in picture _01, the target is the cylindrical object in the front. It contains uranium-carbide kept at a temperature of 2200 deg C, necessary for the isotopes to be able to escape. At either end, one sees the heater current leads, carrying 700 A. The Booster beam, some 3E13 protons per pulse, enters the target from left. The evaporated isotope atoms enter a hot-plasma ion source (the black object behind the target). The whole unit sits at 60 kV potential (pulsed in synchronism with the arrival of the Booster beam) which accelerates the ions (away from the viewer) towards one of the 2 separators.

Radioactive nuclei are produced at the ISOLDE facility by shooting a high-energy beam of protons on a thick target. By studying some of these nuclei, physicists are improving the knowledge of nucleosynthesis, the process through which stars produce chemical elements. This is a prototype that was developed for the CERN Open Days, in 2019.

The electromagnetic calorimeter used in LHCb is a sandwich of lead plates and scintillating tiles. Incoming particles interact with the lead, creating a shower of new particles. This shower goes on to interact with the plastic tiles where its energy is transformed into tiny flashes of light, called scintillations. All this light is then collected in optical fibres which transport it to a photomultiplier tube that converts the light signal into a pulse of electrical current. The resulting signal reveals the energy of the original particle. 3300 such modules combine to make up the first layer of LHCb calorimeters.

Medipix is a family of read-out chips for particle imaging and detection developed by the Medipix Collaborations. The original concept is that it works like a camera, detecting and counting each individual particle hitting the pixels when its electronic shutter is open. This enables high-resolution, high-contrast, noise hit free images – making it unique for imaging applications. Hybrid pixel detector technology was initially developed to address the needs of particle tracking at the CERN LHC. The Medipix1 chip, which uses identical front-end circuitry to the Omega3 particle tracking chip, demonstrated the great potential for the technology outside of high-energy physics. To further develop this novel technology and take it into new scientific fields the Medipix2 Collaboration was started in 1999, the Medipix3 collaboration in 2005 and finally the Medipix4 collaboration in 2016.

Particles coming from the universe are crossing the earth all the time – they are harmless but invisible to us. Cloud Chambers are detectors which make the tracks of the particles visible. Some decades ago these detectors were used at CERN in the first particle physics experiments.

An alternative method of detecting particles spraying out of collisions in the inner regions of experiments uses scintillating fibres.