Neutron Resonance Analysis Methods for Archaeological and Cultural Heritage Applications

Mapping the elemental distribution in archaeological findings through advanced Neutron Resonance Transmission Imaging

“…the signal is synchronous to when the proton beam hits the target). Considering the time broadening of ∼ 400 ns affecting the initial neutron pulse due to the neutrons slowing down in the small water moderator [40,41], the time binning of the NRTI acquisition has been set at 1 μs.…”

Quantitative, non-destructive elemental composition analysis of 3D-structured samples

“…Most mainstream element-analytical techniques 1 require destructive sampling, such as powdering, homogenization, or dissolution of the specimen, while laser-ablation, X-ray or particle-induced techniques have limited penetration depth, and consequently, the volume-representativity of the results is limited. However, neutron-based techniques (Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA), Prompt-gamma Activation Analysis (PGAA) 2,3 , and Neutron Resonance Capture/Transmission Analysis (NRT, NRCA) [4][5][6][7] ) are well-suited for the direct and bulk-representative analysis of solid samples, even in cases such as surface coating, corrosion, decoration 8 , as well as when the sample is inhomogeneous on the macroscale. Thanks to their fundamentally different methodologies, i.e., the Poisson counting statistics and comprehensive uncertainty budget, they provide results of high metrological quality 9 .…”