SOLEIL Synchrotron

Soleil is a particle accelerator that produces synchrotron radiation, extremely powerful light source for exploring inert or living matter. This multidisciplinary tool, indispensable in the fields of research and industrial applications, welcomes more than 3,000 users per year. Financed by two principal shareholders- the CNRS and the CEA- SOLEIL holds a status of "”Public company". SOLEIL runs continuously 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with uninterrupted periods of up to 7 weeks at about 40 weeks a year. SOLEIL staff is composed of about 500 employees, all categories combined (permanent staff, PhD students, post - doctoral students, apprentices ....).

SOLEIL synchrotron, inaugurated on December 18, 2006, brings together the whole of the French and international scientific community. It required five years to bring this very high-tech equipment, installed on the Saclay plateau at the heart of a very high-level scientific environment, up to date. Now, it's open to users, researchers in various disciplines used the highest-performing techniques to gain access to the geometry of the material, as well as its chemical, magnetic, and electric properties.