Heavy Ion Accelerators

Our world leading facilities provide accelerated ion beams for a wide variety of research and industry applications

About us

Our facilities for high-energy ion beam research provide R&D capabilities that are unique in Australia and rare in the world.
We operate 24/7 to support Australian and global businesses and ARC Centres of Excellence across multiple sectors.

Latest news

HIA – First Institutional Sponsor of the Academy for Collaborative Research Infrastructure

Heavy Ion Accelerators becomes the maiden sponsoring institution of the Academy for Collaborative Research Infrastructure (ACRI) membership. ACRI was formerly launched at the CORES 2024…

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Banner image by Tony Melov. Artistic representation of an engineered atomic array in silicon. In this example, each site of the array hosts two closely spaced antimony atoms. This atomic pair could serve as a building block to realise and control up to six nuclear spin qubits with a single electronic gate.
From sand to superposition: A key step towards a powerful silicon quantum computer

Silicon – made from beach sand – is the key material for today’s information technology industry because it is an abundant and versatile semiconductor. Scientists…

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Binar CubeSats pioneer radiation detection technology 

CubeSats – small satellites roughly 10cm in size – punch above their weight when it comes to space research. Their low weight and affordable components…

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Capabilities

15MV Ion Accelerator and Linac

Hosted at the Australian National University

Australia’s largest and highest energy ion accelerator, a 15 million volt tandem electrostatic accelerator with an additional 6 million volt linear accelerator loop. Accelerated ions range from hydrogen to plutonium with 11 adaptable beamlines.

Ion Beam Analysis & Ion Implantation

Hosted at the Australian National University

This is the only facility in Australia to provide controlled implantation of a broad range of atomic species into a wide range of materials. This capability supports research in areas such as microelectronics, optoelectronics, photonics, materials science, and quantum technologies.

Nuclear Ion Microprobe

Hosted at the University of Melbourne

Our nuclear ion microprobe provides state-of-the-art imaging and microanalysis, with applications in quantum device fabrication, nanofabrication, minerals and mining exploration. We also operated the world-leading, MAIA X-ray pixel detector array.

Research

Advancing research in areas such as space, defence, medical imaging and cancer therapies, advanced materials and quantum technologies is underpinned by fundamental science, and accelerators are key to acquiring that knowledge.

We provide a national network of state-of-the-art accelerators with highly specialised yet adaptable capabilities.

Our facilities are flexible and agile, able to respond quickly as national priorities shift, and support scientific and industrial research addressing a wide range of research challenges.

Who we work with

Contact us

Australian and international researchers and companies are using our facilities for everything from environmental tracing to space radiation. Get in touch to discuss how you can use or visit our facilities.