OtaNano

LTL Milestones

Historical highlights of LTL
Kryostaatti

2019

European Microkelvin Platform receives significant European funding from the EC H2020 program to build a European laboratory without walls, to improve and upgrade the infrastructure, and to organize user meetings, trainings, harmonization and standardization of access services.

2015

Low Temperature Laboratory of OVLL is introduced as a part of a new Department of Applied Physics and the Brain Research Unit of OVLL forms a new Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering with former Department of Biomedical Engineering and Computational Science.

2014

European Microkelvin Platform (EMP) is established, building on the MICROKELVIN collaboration. EMP is an advanced research infrastructure community of 17 partners, with extensive portfolio of capacities and expertise in ultralow temperature physics. EMP provides access to milli- and microkelvin temperature capabilities and services around the Europe.

The Cryohall infrastructure is renamed as Low Temperature Laboratory.

2013

Both of the infrastructures of the laboratory, Cryohall and Aalto NeuroImaging, were selected for the national research infrastructure strategy and roadmap 2014-2020.

National OtaNano research infrastructure is formed in collaboration with Low Temperature Laboratory, Micronova Nanofabrication centre and Nanomicroscopy center.

Aalto NeuroImaging infrastructure was established.

2012

Low Temperature Lab was renamed as Olli V. Lounasmaa Laboratory (OVLL).

2010 

Riitta Hari appointed Academician of Science by the Academy of Finland.

Professor Pertti Hakonen becomes the new director of the LTL.

2009

National research infrastructure roadmap was presented for the first time. The Cryohall of the Low Temperature laboratory was selected on to the roadmap, and the neuroimaging infrastructure of the Brain Research Unit was recognized as important national infrastructure.

2008 

12 leading European low temperature laboratories formed a European Microkelvin Collaboration – MICROKELVIN, and received FP7-funding from the Capacities Specific Programme called Infrastructures. MICROKELVIN is coordinated by LTL. 

Olli V. Lounasmaa's memoirs, titled “Täällä ei näperrellä! – Kylmäfyysikon kuumat paikat”, were published in January 2008 and included a detailed history of LTL.

2007 

The graduation of the laboratory’s 100th PhD student.

LTL moved to new premises (Puumiehenkuja 2B) at the end of 2007.

2006 

LTL became the home of two national Centers of Excellence (CoE), one in LowTemperature Quantum Phenomena and Devices and another one in Systems Neuroscience and Neuroimaging.

2003 

LTL established a memorial prize carrying the name of Academician Olli V. Lounasmaa. The first prize was awarded in 2004 to Professor John Clarke from University of California, Berkeley.

1997 

Olli Lounasmaa appointed Academician of Science.

1996 

Academy Professor Olli Lounasmaa retires, Professor Mikko Paalanen becomes the new director of the LTL. Nanophysics introduced as a new research direction. LTL selected by IUPAP to host LT22 in 1999.

1994 

LTL is granted Center of Excellence status by the Academy of Finland. LTL is granted by the EU’s HCM program a European Large Scale Facility status in both ultra-low-temperature physics (ULTI) and Biomagnetism (BIRCH) for 1994-97.

1980 

Neuromagnetic brain research started.

1975 

LTL organizes LT15, the main international conference in low-temperature physics.

1973 

LTL becomes an independent unit of TKK.

1965 

LTL founded as a low-temperature physics laboratory by Professor Olli V. Lounasmaa.

Superfluid 3He

2010 

Non-ground-state Bose-Einstein condensates of magnons in superfluid 3He-B are generated.

2006 

Propagating vortex front is observed.

2003 

An intrinsic velocity-independent criterion for superfluid turbulence is discovered.

2002 

Kelvin-Helmholtz instability of the interface between two superfluids is discovered.

2000 

Circulation of doubly quantized vortex measured.

1996 

Simulation of early universe with the rapid superfluid phase transition in 3He.

1993 

Landau's prediction of vortex sheet confirmed experimentally.

1992 

Composite topological object - spin-mass vortex which terminates the soliton - is observed.

1982 

Vortex core transition found in superfluid 3He-B.

1981 

Vortices observed in superfluid 3He.

1972 

Viscosity measurements confirm superfluidity in 3He.

Nuclear magnetism and superconductivity

2006 

Superconductivity in Li

2004 

Nuclear ferromagnetism in Li

2000 

Influence of nuclear magnetism on superconductivity in Rh

1999 

World record temperature of 100 pK in a Rh sample

1994 

Neutron diffraction shows long-range nuclear magnetic order in Ag

1993 

World record temperature of 280 pK in a Rh sample

1990 

Complex phase diagram mapped by neutron diffraction in Cu

1989 

Antiferromagnetic ordering in Ag at 560 pK

1987 

First Bragg reflection from antiferromagnetically ordered Cu

1983 

Antiferromagnetic ordering observed in Cu at 58 nK

Interfaces in quantum systems

2008 

Devil's staircase of facets observed on 4He crystals.

2006 

Thermodynamics of 4He solid was studied, no non-phonon contribution found.

2004 

Quantum roughening of 3He crystals is observed and studied.

2002 

10 new facets discovered on 3He crystal surface.

2000 

3He crystals are imaged at temperatures below 1 mK.

1997 

Facet growth by step motion detected and studied in detail.

1995 

Facets on 4He crystals found to be curved.

1994 

Optical detection of vortex-free meniscus in rotating superfluid 3He

1991 

Optical measurements in a rotating cryostat below 1 mK

2013

Nanomechanical microwave amplifier

2010 

SQUIPT magnetic field sensor

2008 

SINIS turnstile

2005 

C-SET

2004 

L-SET

2003 

Sluice Cooper pair pump

2002 

BOT current amplifier (Science 2003)

1999 

Carbon nanotube based SET

1998 

8 nm particles and nanotubes moved with the tip of an AFM. Superconductor-insulator transition characterized in a single isolated Josephson junction.

1997 

15 nm linewidth demonstrated in electron beam writing.

1996 

Single electron transistors demonstrated successfully.

1996 

SINIS refrigerator

1994 

Nanothermometer

2015

Pulsetube based liquefaction started

2012 

Five dry dilution refrigerators are running in the laboratory and dry demagnetization refrigerator is under development (in cooperation with BlueFors Cryogenics)

2011 

Robust plastic dilution refrigerator was developed

2007 

BlueFors Cryogenics (LTL spin-off company) was established

2006 

First dry dilution refrigerator assembled in the laboratory

1993 

World's largest dilution refrigerator for cooling polarized targets completed at CERN

1988 

1.6 T magnet built for phosphorus NMR imaging

1983 

MRI system with a superconducting magnet built for clinical evaluation

1980 

Millikelvin temperatures in a rotating cryostat

1979 

100 kW superconducting motor built and successfully tested

1978 

Double nuclear cooling in operation

1971 

Cryostat combining nuclear cooling with dilution refrigeration operational

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