Hokkaido University Research Profiles

Japanese

imaging: 2

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  • Open Advanced Research Facilities Initiative (Project for Creation of Research Platforms and Sharing of Advanced Research Infrastructure)

    Microscopic imaging platform for atoms and molecules

    Promotion and expansion of the isotope microscope system installed at the Equipment Management Center for shared use by industry, academia and government.

    Research

    We invite, select and implement proposals for the effective use of stable isotope imaging technology, which is a special feature of the isotope microscope system, to expand it to industrial innovation.
    Upon hearing the word, “isotopes,” the concept of “age measurement” immediately comes to mind. Actually, until now, isotope microscopes have been used to analyze isotope ratios, primarily in minerals and other areas of space science. This is a result obtained by observing the as-is cross-section of the obtained sample. However, by changing the concept of the measurement method, we can expand the use of isotope microscopes to industrial application. In other words, by actively doping a target sample with an isotope element, rather than observing it “as such,” it becomes possible to measure the desired imaging we were unable to see before. The use of stable rather than radioactive isotopes also allows us to work safely.

  • Super-hierarchical Structure Imaging Through the Combined Use of Neutrons and X-rays

    Non-destructive imaging of unknown information over a wide range of scales using multi-quantum beams

    Pulsed neutron transmission spectroscopy imaging is attracting attention as a method of non-destructive visualization of information that cannot be seen with other microscopic methods, and when it is combined with other quantum beams such as X-rays, it is possible to visualize information that cannot be seen with images alone.

    Research

    Hokkaido University’s laboratory facilities, where small accelerators are used, have a history of nearly half a century, and are attracting worldwide attention as pioneering facilities. We mainly produce pulsed neutron beams, and the transmission spectra obtained using these beams enable us to map information on crystal structure, microstructure, internal stress and temperature on a two-dimensional real image as a distribution map of the entire sample. We also use X-ray CT which can measure the three-dimensional structure of the inside of an object, and analyze the combined results from neutrons and X-ray studies to synergistically understand the interior information of an object. In the figure, shown as synergistic imaging based on information from neutrons and X-rays, information on elements that cannot be individually obtained is mapped on the inside structure shown on the X-ray CT image. X-ray CT shows the presence of wires in an Al cylinder, but when neutron information is added, we can see that each wire is a different material.