Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Neutron imaging is a fundamental technique for the study of light elements, indispensable for the study of lithium distribution in batteries, water dynamics in soil or hydrogen storage in materials. Its quantitative accuracy is limited by the presence of scattered neutrons at the detector, which reduces the image contrast and introduces systematic errors in the attenuation coefficient evaluation. Here we present a dual detector setup to correct the neutron scatter component. The first detector, placed close to the sample, captures the transmitted and scattered neutrons while the second, installed downstream, captures mostly transmitted neutrons, with the scattered neutrons strongly suppressed by distance. By combining both acquisitions, we obtain a scatter-free radiography with the superior resolution of the first detector, without any sample-dependent calibration. This method is validated on a standard resolution sample to assess that there is no degradation in image quality; and the performance is proven on a highly challenging 4D tomography experiment using H $$_2$$ O and D $$_2$$ O mixtures within a heterogeneous soil matrix. This method brings neutron tomography from a qualitative visualisation technique to a quantitative analysis of heterogeneous, dynamic systems containing strong scattering substances.
Source: Scientific Reports
Authors: Oriol Sans-Planell, Nikolay Kardjilov, Henning Markötter, Christian Tötzke, Alessandro Tengattini, André Hilger, Mark Krzyzagorski, Nicolas Lenoir, Ingo Manke
Institutions: Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie, Federal Institute For Materials Research and Testing, University of Potsdam, Institut polytechnique de Grenoble, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Institut Universitaire de France, Institut Laue-Langevin, Sols, Solides, Structures, Risques, Université Grenoble Alpes, Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt
Language: English
Subfield: Radiation
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,690
OpenAlex ID: W7167550149