Accelerators and colliders
Crystals that steer beams, make positrons, emit radiation and shorten the showers in calorimeters.
Crystal Lab
Solid-state physics for high energies and particle physics · University of Ferrara and INFN
A diced silicon wafer, held up in the cleanroom
We shape crystals that bend particle beams, focus X-rays and catch dark matter.
A joint group of the University of Ferrara and INFN. We design, make and test crystals in our own cleanroom, then take them to accelerators, synchrotrons and underground laboratories. Since 2023 our bent silicon crystals collimate the beams of the LHC at CERN.
Explore the research lines →×5better collimation than the standard LHC system, in operation since 2023
30 µradalignment of each crystal in the OTELLO Laue lens for ESA
130 m²of cleanroom where every crystal is cut, polished and bent
183papers in peer-reviewed journals since 2007
In the cleanroom
We dice, lap, bend and bond silicon, germanium and quartz in our cleanroom, down to nanometre flatness.
In the metrology lab
Interferometry, X-ray diffraction and profilometry check every crystal to the microradian before it leaves the lab.
At accelerators, in space, underground
Our crystals steer protons in the LHC, focus γ rays for space telescopes, split XFEL pulses and hunt for dark matter.
Each job, its own crystal.
All research lines →
X-ray and γ-ray optics
Bent and bonded crystals that select, split and focus photons.
Detectors and simulation
Crystals that catch rare events, and the code that models them.
Recently published.
All 183 papers →Satellite-borne γ-ray astrophysics from coherent interactions in oriented crystals
Monti-Guarnieri P., Paternò G., Sytov A. … Fedeli P., Guidi V., Mazzolari A. et al. · 710, A255 (2026)
Crystal fabrication techniques for enhanced performance in planar channeling
Romagnoni M., Bandiera L., Canale N. … Fedeli P., Guidi V., Malagutti L. et al. · 1082 (2026)
Mechanical design and photodetector system of the first calorimeter prototypes based on oriented scintillating crystals
Fedeli P., Selmi A., Bandiera L. … Cescato F., Guidi V., Malagutti L. et al. · 21 (2026)
Join us.
Bachelor, master and PhD theses in data analysis, beam tests, Geant4 simulation and laboratory work. Come and see the lab.
See thesis topics → Tesi in italiano