General Information

The Institute was established as Laboratorio di Fisica del Plasma ed Elettronica Quantistica in 1970 under the Direction of Prof. Piero Caldirola, with two separate sections: the plasma physics section at the University of Milan and the Quantum electronics section at the Politecnico (School of Engineering) of Milan. The esperimental activity of the plasma section was mainly oriented toward studies of ionized gas discharges while the theoretical studies were focussed on problems of radio wave propagation in the ionosphere and of experiments interpretation.
Later in 1975, the two sections split and the plasma section kept the name of Laboratorio di Fisica del Plasma. In 1976, the European scientific collaboration started in the frame of the EURATOM-CNR Association, established together with the Istituto Gas Ionizzati of Padua. Within this association the tokamak THOR was built and operated from 1978 to 1989 with an auxiliary RF power system at 28 Ghz for electron heating by ECW waves. These experiments were financed under "preferential support" by Euratom.
In 1979 the Laboratory was named Istituto di Fisica del Plasma. In 1985 the EURATOM-ENEA-CNR Association was established, unifying the relations with Euratom of all Italian institutes doing research on thermonuclear fusion (contracts 202/85/FUAI; 343/88/FUAI, and present contract 01.01.88-31.12.98). The experience gained on the THOR tokamak has allowed the Institute to design, construct, and operate scientifically and technically the electron heating experiment with radiofrequency power at 140 Ghz on the plasma of the FTU tokamak of C.R.E. ENEA in Frascati, under Euratom "preferential support".
In the frame of the CNR reorganization, on 15/10/2001 the Institute is confirmed as Istituto di Fisica del Plasma "Piero Caldirola" (IFP).

Presently, IFP staff amounts to 20 Researchers/Technologists, 10 technicians, 5 administrative and secretarial persons, 8 contractors/fellowship and 7 external collaborators.

The mission of the Institute, grown in thirty years of activity performed in close contact with international institutions and within the Euratom research framework, is scientific and technological research in the field of laboratory plasma physics, with particular focus on the interaction of electromagnetic waves with plasmas. IFP organization is historically along three functional lines with continuous and important internal collaborations. The first experimental line is dedicated to carrying out experiments with high power millimiter waves for applications in the domain of thermonuclear fusion research and for the development of radiofrequency technologies, both at high power and at signal level for diagnostic systems. The second functional line of applied research is dedicated to the physical-chemical study of plasma-materials interaction, oriented toward the development of processes of material treatment both for molecular dissociation of toxic substances and for the modification of surface properties. Furthermore physical-chemical analysis of first wall material of fusion experimental devices is performed using state-of-the-art equipment and techniques as X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), Atomic Emission Spectrometry (AES), Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS), Low Energy Electron Diffraction (LEED), Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometer (SIMS). The third research line includes the development of plasma theory, concerning fundamental and applied problems, in particular electromagnetic wave interaction with plasmas, the physics of tokamaks and thermonuclear fusion, and the theoretical modelling and interpretation of national and international experiments on fusion. The theoretical studies are performed both using the classical analytical methods of physics and mathematical investigations, and the development of numerical codes suitable for the complex modelling of the processes under study and interpretation of the signals measured. Presently, IFP is equipped with advanced numerical codes for the study of propagation, absorption and scattering of gaussian beams of high frequency electromagnetic waves, new and accurate Vlasov and Fokker-Planck codes, fluid type codes for modelling heat and particle transport in tokamaks, and finally other codes developed for electromagnetic emission analysis and for some magnetohydrodynamic stability problem.

Training of IFP staff, as well as of university and PhD students, is pursued continuously with close national and international collaboration with scientific institutions, and universities.

IFP has organized or collaborated to the scientific organization of several workshops and international conferences on the physics of laboratory and astrophysical plasmas, often together with the International School of Plasma Physics and the Associazione Italiana Vuoto.

The main items of the scientific activity are briefly listed below.

Experimental research on the Plasma interaction with electron cyclotron waves and related technologies:
1. ECRH experiments on FTU;
2. R&D in the Millimiter Wave Laboratory;
3. participation to international ECRH projects and experiments;
4. participation to the Planck-LFI project.

Plasma and thermonuclear fusion technologies:
1. plasma induced modification of surface functional properties;
2. destruction of organic toxical waste;
3. ion species separation in a plasma by means of RF ponderomotive forces;
4. instrument development for material surface analysis.

Theory of Plasma and of thermonuclear fusion:
1. physics of wave plasma interaction in fusion devices;
2. transport and MHD studies for tokamaks;
3. general plasma theory;
4. fusion Diagnostics Studies.