ARIEL
Revolutionizing the study of isotopes for science, medicine, and business
The Advanced Rare Isotope Laboratory (ARIEL) is the only purpose-built multi-user rare isotope facility in the world, as well as the world’s most powerful Isotope Separation Online (ISOL) complex.
ARIEL will enable world-class research on the nature of atomic nuclei, the origin of the heavy chemical elements, quantum materials and biomolecules, as well as medical isotopes for the imaging and treatment of disease. It will massively expand our rare isotope program by providing more exotic isotope species with very high intensities and by adding two production targets in parallel to the existing ISAC target station. Together, the three isotope production stations will allow us to fully exploit the numerous existing experimental facilities at ISAC.
At the heart of ARIEL is a built-in-Canada superconducting electron accelerator (e-linac) for isotope production via photo-production and photo-fission as well as a second proton beam line from TRIUMF’s cyclotron for isotope production via proton-induced spallation, fragmentation, and fission.
Funded by the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), as well as five provinces, with backing from 21 universities, construction of ARIEL is occurring in two stages. The first stage (2010-2014) included the construction of the ARIEL building as well as development of the e-linac, which produced its first accelerated beam in 2014. The second stage (2017-2023) involves the construction of the two target stations, associated laboratory and hot-cell infrastructure, as well as the rare isotope beam transport beamlines, mass-separator, and an electron-beam ion source for charge breeding.