MARMOT at full swing
The MARMOT neutron detection system is the latest innovation in neutron technologies. during the last 2025 reactor cycle, it has been commissioned on ThALES with 1/4 of the detection channels fully equipped. Operation should start next year.
The mounting of MARMOT on ThALES in September 2025.
The MARMOT system is the latest major technical breakthrough in neutron spectrometers. Designed and built in-house at the ILL, it offers a new way to analyse the energies of neutrons across a wide range of angles. It is based on an innovative bent silicon crystals technology, which enables new designs for monochromators and analysers specifically tailored to enhance inelastic neutron scattering experiments.
MARMOT has been conceived to observe the dynamics of so-called quantum materials, which exhibit peculiar magnetic properties on an atomic scale, governed by the strange laws of quantum mechanics. Fundamental in nature, this research is essential to understand the collective behaviour of electronic systems under conditions that accentuate their quantum nature, and to contribute to the development of future communication and storage devices. These insights not only deepen our knowledge of the quantum world but also contribute to future advances in information technologies.
During the last 2025 reactor operations cycle at the ILL, which ended in late October, the MARMOT project has reached a crucial milestone. The final structure, with the first seven detecting channels fully equipped, has been installed and commissioned on the ThALES instrument. The next step will more than triple the detectors’ active surface area, making MARMOT even more efficient.
Global view of one element of the MARMOT analyser : a stack with progressive inclination of 41 curved silicon crystals
Two elements of the MARMOT analyser - plus an empty support - as seen from above
Februrary 2023: testing of an element of the future MARMOT detector. From left to right: the monochromator housing, a beam intensity monitor, slits, a multitube beam monitor being tested, slits, and the element of the MARMOT detector.
Mounting of the MARMOT mirrors and shielding on ThALES in September 2025
Mounting of the MARMOT mirrors in September 2025
The first MARMOT mirrors in place on ThALES.
Top view of MARMOT during the mounting of its mirrors and detectors.
Mounting of one element of the MARMOT analyser under the array of mirrors.
Measurments of antiferromagnetic spin waves on a test sample (October 2025) showed an impressive signal quality and collection rate - with energy dispersive signal available for every single Q "dot" represented in this figure.