The Vacuum Group (VAC) objective is to design, build and operate vacuum systems in the pressure range from Earth’s atmospheric pressure (10^3 mbar) to extreme-high vacuum (10^-12 mbar, which is comparable to the pressure in the surface of the moon).

The group has as its main attributions: to design, specify, develop, build, condition and keep in operation all the vacuum systems in operation in the LNLS, such as the current synchrotron light source UVX and its beamlines.

Currently, the group has under its responsibility a large variety of vacuum pumps and sensors, including sputter ion pumps, rotary vane pumps, diaphragm pumps, scroll pumps, turbomolecular pumps and titanium sublimation pumps; and sensors like Penning, Inverted Magnetron, Pirani and Bayard-Alpert and Extractor; mass spectrometers for vaccum residual gas; and helium leak detectors.

Besides that, the group is responsible for the design and construction of the vacuum system for the new synchrotron light source Sirius. Finally, the group also interacts with the industrial and academic sectors regarding developments and the diffusion of knowledge in vacuum technologies.