MassSpecpecD BV and University of Twente start joint R&D project on micro de Laval nozzles

Post date: Apr 11, 2020 6:33:51 AM

The Dutch National Research Council (NWO) has awarded a KIEM-project grant to Prof. Han Gardeniers (University of Twente, the Netherlands) to co-develop with our company a rectangular shaped micro de Laval nozzle, using state-of-the-art lithography and deep-reactive-ion-etching facilities of MESA+/Nanolab. These rectangular type of expansions will open up novel and highly optimized applications of laser-, Free-Electron-Laser or synchrotron-based radiation-matter interaction.

Gustaf de Laval was born in 1845 at Orsa in the Swedish de Laval Huguenot family. In 1882 he introduced his concept of an impulse steam turbine and in 1887 built a small steam turbine to demonstrate that such devices could be constructed on that scale. In 1890 de Laval developed a nozzle to increase the steam jet to supersonic speed, working from the kinetic energy of the steam, rather than its pressure. The nozzle, now known as a de Laval nozzle, is used in modern rocket engine nozzles.