Cutting-edge experimental facilities and equipment
The work carried out by the INSIS relies on first-rate experimental infrastructures.
Platforms and large research infrastructures
High-level technological resources are essential for certain research projects. The INSIS laboratories house some major research infrastructures such as the Odeillo solar furnace and a whole network of specialized platforms: cleanrooms, super- and hypersonic wind tunnels, a wave basin, anechoic chambers, microscopes, fire tunnels, laser platforms, characterization platforms and so forth. In particular, the INSIS hosts RENATECH, the academic network of nanofabrication technology centres.
These platforms are often open to external researchers either from the academic world or the R&D departments of major industrial concerns.
Zoom on the RENATECH network
For more than ten years, the CNRS has had a network of micro- and nanofabrication platforms, the national network of large RENATECH technology plants which is open to users from the academic world and industry.
The INSIS steers RENATECH which has enabled the French micro-technological research and production system to be upgraded and made it state-of-the-art in terms of both equipment and human expertise.
RENATECH now has 7000 m2 of cleanrooms spread over 5 platforms (Marcoussis, Orsay, Lille, Besançon, Toulouse, Grenoble) run by 150 engineers and technicians. 1000 academic or industrial clients use these resources every year working on a total of 365 projects with an average duration of 27 months.