Course Descriptions

BL01: 4SEASONS

The Study of Lattice Dynamics in Crystalline Material using Inelastic Neutron Scattering

Inelastic neutron scattering is an experimental method that is used to observe and measure the micro-vibration (dynamics) of atoms and spins in a sample material. By observing the difference in energy between the incident and scattered neutrons, the magnitudes, distances, and directions of the forces acting between the atoms or spins in the sample can be determined.

In this course, students will measure atomic vibrations (phonons) in a single crystal by inelastic neutron scattering using the chopper spectrometer 4SEASONS. By analyzing the data, students will learn what kinds of forces act between atoms and how they affect the macroscopic properties.

BL02: DNA

The Study of Molecular Dynamics on the Nanosecond Timescale using Quasielastic Neutron Scattering

Quasielastic neutron scattering is considered to be one of the most effective techniques for measuring the dissipation motion (e.g. fluctuation or diffusion) of atoms, molecules and spins in a material. In particular, in a number of widely-used functional materials – such as in lithium secondary batteries or fuel cells, solid state ionic conductors play an important role. In these solid state ionic conductors, the ions or hydrogen atoms are moving at a speed similar to that of the liquid state – even at around room temperature. These dynamic motions of ions and hydrogen atoms can be measured at the nanosecond timescale using quasi-elastic neutron scattering.

In this course, students will use the DNA high-resolution spectrometer to study the hydrogen ion dynamics in a Nafion ion exchange membrane – a material that is currently in practical use in polymer electrolyte fuel cells. At the same time, students will learn how to analyze the data from a typical quasielastic neutron scattering experiment.

BL03: iBIX

Using Single Crystal Neutron Diffraction to Study Bio-macromolecules

Neutron diffraction is a powerful method for determining and studying the arrangement of atoms in crystalline materials. By measuring the so-called “Bragg reflections” that arise from neutrons scattered by single crystals, a detailed picture of the sample structure at the atomic level can be derived. The Ibaraki biological crystal diffractometer iBIX (BL03) is an instrument designed for single crystal neutron diffraction, specifically targeting the study of small organic molecules and bio-macromolecules.

In this course, students will use BL03 to measure the time-of-flight neutron diffraction data from a standard protein single crystal. They will also receive hands-on instruction on experimental methods, data reduction and structure analysis techniques with special emphasis on determining the location of hydrogen and deuterium atoms.

BL04: ANNRI

The Study of Elemental Composition by Prompt Gamma-Ray Analysis (PGA) and Neutron Resonance Capture Analysis (NRCA)

Prompt Gamma-ray Analysis (PGA) measures capture gamma-rays, which have a characteristic energy spectrum for each particular nuclide, emitted from a sample under neutron irradiation. Additionally, neutron resonance capture analysis (NRCA) is an analytical method which uses the energies of neutron capture resonances to identify nuclei (elements) by the time-of-flight technique. These two techniques provide the means to identify and quantify the elemental constituents of a sample.

In this course, students will carry out these two types of non-destructive elemental analyses using the Accurate Neutron-Nucleus Reaction measurement Instrument (ANNRI) at BL04, where they will receive instruction in experiments that offer hands-on learning.

BL08: SHRPD

Neutron Powder Diffraction and Data Analysis

SuperHRPD is a high resolution time-of-flight neutron powder diffractometer. SuperHRPD often detects tiny crystallographic distortions during phase transitions in many materials, which are sometimes overlooked with conventional powder diffractometers. To obtain Rietveld-quality data, 1 - 10 hours of data acquisition with a 3-cc sample is required.

In this course, students will learn time-of-flight neutron powder diffractometry and Rietveld analysis through hands-on SuperHRPD experiments. The skills learned in this course will be generally applicable to powder diffraction experiments throughout the world.

BL11: PLANET

The Study of Pressure-Induced Structural Change by In-Situ Powder Neutron Diffraction

Every material changes its structure and physical properties with the application of pressure. In-situ high-pressure neutron diffraction enables us to observe these changes at the atomic scale. The technique is applied to a wide field of sciences; including condensed matter physics, Earth and planetary science, and material sciences.

This course provides instruction on the basic principles of time of flight neutron diffraction as well as techniques to generate high-pressures. The students will experience the phase transition of water to high-pressure ice phases, and learn a series of procedures to analyze these crystal structures through the experiments at the PLANET beamline.

BL12: HRC

Observation of Harmonic Oscillators using Inelastic Neutron Scattering

Inelastic neutron scattering is an experimental method to observe the motion of atoms and spins in a sample material. A pulsed neutron source produces neutrons having a range of energies from low to high, allowing excitations with higher frequencies to be observed in materials.

In this course, students will try to observe inelastic neutron scattering from a material containing hydrogen atoms using the High-Resolution Chopper Spectrometer (HRC) at BL12. In such materials, the motion of hydrogen atoms can be approximated as harmonic oscillators, which is learned in a typical undergraduate quantum mechanics course.

BL14: AMATERAS

Study on the Dynamics of Liquids using Quasi-elastic Neutron Scattering

By carefully measuring the energy difference between incident and scattered neutrons, it is possible not only to determine the atomic or magnetic structure of a material but also to probe the motion of atoms, molecules and spins (atomic magnets). This method is called inelastic neutron scattering (INS), which is a powerful technique for investigating the dynamics of materials. When the measured difference in energy is very small, the technique is known as quasi-elastic neutron scattering (QENS).

In this course, students will measure the slow dynamics observed in simple liquids using AMATERAS - a cold-neutron chopper spectrometer - and receive practical instruction in performing experiments and analyzing QENS data collected on chopper spectrometers at pulsed neutron sources.

BL15: TAIKAN

Structural Analysis using the Small and Wide Angle Neutron Scattering Instrument TAIKAN

Small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) is a valuable tool in the characterization of the nanoscale structure of materials. J-PARC’s Small and Wide Angle Neutron Scattering Instrument TAIKAN can probe structures in a sample on a length scale from 0.1 nm to over 100 nm.

The following topics will be covered in this course:
- SANS using a pulsed beam
- Similarities and differences between SANS using a pulsed beam, SANS using a continuous beam and SAXS
- Diversity of sample environments
- Experimental methods and data analysis procedures using samples such as
nanoparticles, protein solutions, polymers, metals, etc.

BL16: SOFIA

Soft Interface Investigation using Neutron Reflectometry

Soft matters are widely utilized for surface modification, such as coating, and are indispensable to our daily life. Neutron reflectometry (NR) is a powerful tool for investigating "soft interfaces", interfaces between soft matters, on the nanometer to sub-micrometre length scale taking advantage of the unique characteristics of neutrons: neutrons can distinguish an interesting part labeled with deuterium and/or can observe an interface between solid and liquid through a substrate.

In this course, students will carry out NR experiments using the SOFIA reflectometer at BL16. The neutron reflectivity profiles of polymer thin films on Si substrates will be measured in air and in water with different contrasts. The observed reflectivity profiles will be analyzed using the Parratt formalism to determine the change in the structure of the thin films due to the immersion in water.

BL17: SHARAKU

TBA

BL18: SENJU

Single Crystal Neutron Diffraction Study of Inorganic and Small-molecule Materials using SENJU

Using neutron diffraction, the arrangement of atoms in materials can be determined by analyzing the so-called "Bragg reflections", i.e., neutrons diffracted by crystalline materials. SENJU (BL18) is a single crystal neutron diffraction instrument especially designed for the structural study of inorganic and small-molecule materials as well as magnetic structures.

In the course at BL18, participants will learn the basics of single crystal diffraction with time-of-flight neutrons and experience actual structure analysis.

BL19: TAKUMI

Engineering Studies using Neutron Diffraction

Careful analysis of the Bragg peaks in a neutron diffraction pattern can reveal important structural details of a sample material such as internal stresses, phase conditions, dislocations, texture etc. Such information is often crucial in engineering applications and the ability to carry out either ex-situ or in-situ measurements makes neutron diffraction particularly useful in this respect.

In this course, the basics of engineering studies using neutron diffraction will be introduced and students will participate in trial experiments using the engineering materials diffractometer (TAKUMI) and hands-on data analysis sessions. An in situ neutron diffraction experiment during deformation of a metallic material or a residual strain mapping in a metallic engineering part will be performed as the trial experiment.

BL20: iMATERIA

Crystal Structure Study using Neutron Powder Diffraction.

The neutron powder diffraction method is a standard method for studying crystal structure. In materials science and in the development of new materials, it is important to understand the precise crystal structure in order to clarify the relationship between the atomic arrangement and the physical properties of the bulk material.

In this course, students will learn the basics of neutron powder diffraction and experience actual measurements on iMATERIA (BL20), including data analysis using the Rietveld technique.

BL21: NOVA

Neutron Total Scattering

Neutron total scattering can be used to investigate the structure of amorphous systems such as liquids and glasses, and also to characterize disorder in crystalline materials. The unique feature of this technique is the use of real-space correlations – such as pair or radial distribution functions obtained by the Fourier transformation of observed diffraction cross sections – to analyze the disordered atomic structure. The instrument for total scattering resembles a conventional powder diffractometer but is designed to obtain higher real-space resolution.

Students in this course will receive instruction in the total scattering technique, participate in a total scattering experiment using the high-intensity total diffractometer NOVA, and practice data reduction and structural analysis using real-space correlation functions.

BL22: RADEN

Neutron Imaging

Neutron imaging is a widely-used, nondestructive investigation method to visualize the internal structure of objects. The energy-resolved neutron imaging technique using a pulsed neutron beam, where the energy dependent neutron transmission is carefully analyzed position by position, provides the spatial distribution of various information, such as elemental concentration, temperature, crystallographic structure, and magnetic field.

In this course, both conventional neutron imaging and energy-resolved neutron imaging will be introduced. Students will conduct demonstration experiments using the RADEN instrument (BL22), including data analysis and visualization of the results.

D-line: D1

Introduction to muon spin relaxation (µSR) measurement

Muon spin relaxation is capable of measuring
・The magnetism and/or superconductivity of a material, and
・The state of hydrogen atoms within a material
by probing the local fields at the muon location. In contrast to neutron diffraction, µSR is a local probe in real space, being similar to nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and electron spin resonance (ESR). μSR is a powerful probe of spin relaxation phenomena in materials research.

In this course, students will have an opportunity to collect μSR data at the D1/S1 spectrometer and will receive instruction in data analysis. An introductory lecture on μSR will also be given as part of the school.