International multidisciplinary research centre of excellence, specialising in the generation of synchrotron light and high-quality free-electron lasers and their applications in the material and life sciences.

Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste’s mission is to promote cultural, social and economic growth through:

• basic and applied research
• technological and knowledge transfer
• advanced technical, scientific and management training
• creating and coordinating national and international scientific networks.

The core resources of the research centre are two advanced light sources, the Elettra storage ring and the FERMI free electron laser (FEL). Operating continuously (24 hours a day), they collectively provide “coloured” light of the highest quality to more than 30 experimental stations that allow the structure and function of materials to be characterised, with sensitivity down to the molecular and atomic level. These powerful resources are used by a large community of researchers from academia and industry to make nanostructures and devices, and to develop new technological processes.