Nuclear physics as well as fundamental weak-interaction physics and astrophysics questions will be addressed using laser spectroscopy techniques, decay spectroscopy of radioactive species, mass spectrometry and other trap-assisted measurements. Experience at other ISOL facilities evidences that ion beams with a high degree of purity are needed to push experiments towards the limits of stability. The most efficient and universal way of achieving isotopic pure beams is a high-resolution mass separator in combination with RFQ cooler and buncher.

Therefore, the main elements of DESIR are an RFQ cooler and buncher called SHIRAC (SPIRAL2 High-Intensity Radiofrequency Cooler) aiming at cooling and bunching micro-ampere beams (q = 1+, E = 10 to 60 kV) with an output beam emittance of about 1/>/math>mm mrad, a high-resolution mass separator HRS with a resolution of m/m ≈ 20000, and an experimental hall of size 1500m². This DESIR hall will house off-line sources to test and tune experimental setups before beams will be sent to the different setups as proposed and installed by users. This experimental equipment consists of LASER spectroscopy setups, decay-study setups and ions or atomic traps.

The DESIR facility will receive beams from the two SPIRAL2 production caves (the red and yellow caves) from fission reactions of ²³⁸U nuclei, fusion-evaporation and transfer reaction as well as from deep-inelastic collisions. An additional production scheme is due to reaction products from the S3 separator spectrometer, which uses also fusion-evaporation, transfer and deep-inelastic reaction, but allows also the production of beams of refractory elements and very short-lived isotopes. Finally beams from SPIRAL1 will also be available in DESIR.

Details about the DESIR facility, the physics case of DESIR, and a preliminary budget can be found in the Letter of Intent submitted to the SPIRAL2 Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC).

A detailed technical description of the DESIR installation is given in a Technical Design Report submitted to the SPIRAL SAC on December 19, 2008.