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Measurement Science Areas
The NIST Center for Neutron Research leads and performs research toward informing and developing new neutron-based measurement technology. Measurement needs are informed by customer engagement, including activities within the user program, workshops, technical programs at scientific conferences, and site visits to stakeholders. Key factors are the potential impact of neutron technology, NIST priorities, and available resources. Programs are often executed through partnerships. While specific programs are consistently evolving, longer-term research areas are highlighted below.
Agriculture
The large depth of penetration of neutrons and their sensitivity to water and other nutrients allows neutron scattering and neutron imaging to measure water distribution, root structure, and changes at the molecular level in soil as plants respond to changing environment, soil quality, and soil additives. Future challenges include the development of facilities to ensure food supply security.
Autonomous and AI-driven Measurement Science
Artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms presents a generational opportunity to enhance the information content of data from user facilities. The NCNR works with partner organizations to explore, develop, and deploy new technology to realize these gains. One of the first projects, the Autonomous Formulation Laboratory, is deployed at NIST, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Argonne National Laboratory. The development of fully autonomous instrumentation could better support industrial projects and the analyses of complex materials.
Biotechnology
Isotopic labeling and the high penetration depth of neutron beams are key to the emergence of neutron scattering as a foundational technique for the biotechnology industry. Neutron scattering routinely probes high concentration biologic formulations used in commercial therapies, and provides data on formulation stability, aggregation, and response to flow, temperature, and pressure. Future challenges include the development of dedicated instrumentation to serve product development pipelines and regulatory requirements, and measures of biological function in live samples.
Chemical Manufacturing
Safe and economic creation, separation, and storage of chemical feedstocks underpin the future development of the chemical and energy industries. Neutron diffraction and inelastic scattering provide important insights into molecular structure and motion that are central to many catalysts, membranes, and energy storage technologies. The development of a new metal organic framework, Aluminum Formate, at the NCNR promises to provide a tailorable structure toward multiple applications, including efficient chemical separation membranes, isotope separations, and quantum computing. New measurement technology, such as white beam spectrometers, will facilitate the creation of quantum materials with unprecedented stability, isotope separations for the nuclear industry, membranes for critical mineral extraction, and in situ measures of catalytic function.
Dosimetry
The NCNR is a valuable resource for the development of dosimetry to ensure personal safety and compliance with regulations in environments that may feature a risk of exposure. Accurate and reliable personal dosimetry is key to the healthcare, nuclear energy, and other sectors of industry.
Engineering Materials
Neutron-based research on engineering materials, which includes neutron diffraction and imaging, operates at the core of the mission of the Department of Commerce. Key areas include energy materials including batteries, additive manufacturing, aerospace, medical and dental technology, metal-forming and joining, and infrastructural materials. Further impact will result from implementing white beam technology to support rapid response capabilities.
Fundamental Physics
Many measurement advances rely on increased understanding of the sub-atomic world. Recent studies of the neutron lifetime, neutron orbital angular momentum, anti-neutrino detectors, and entangled neutron beams are leading to new measurements of coherence in quantum devices and sensors, “self-healing” neutron beams, and new neutron optics.
Geoscience and Critical Minerals
Similar to agriculture, the primary benefit of neutron imaging and scattering for geoscience is the ability to measure the location and quantity of light elements such as hydrogen and lithium in large, undisturbed samples and devices. Spatial mapping of porosity, composition, and monitoring of hydration are common applications. Further development seeks to develop methods to measure samples in geologically relevant conditions and facilitate the development of efficient and effective separation processes for critical mineral supply chains.
Microelectronics
Neutron facilities including the NCNR continue to support the development of photoresists, magnetic data storage, doping of silicon, and other key areas of microelectronics fabrication. New measurement technology strives to facilitate emerging technologies such as spintronics to realize low energy electronics, neuromorphic computing, solid state batteries, and critical mineral extraction.
Neutron Analytical Methods
More than 100 standard reference materials developed by NIST are certified using NCNR facilities. Many of these standards are supported through one or more of the activation analysis techniques, which provide quantitative data on elemental composition. Neutron analytical methods are ideal for independent, high quality, and accurate measurements in a variety of matrixes and chemistries.
Nuclear Data and Fusion Energy
Neutron beams are inherently sensitive to nuclear cross sections and provide the nuclear industry and research communities with necessary data for reactor design. This data also serves to advance analytical techniques such as nuclear magnetic resonance, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), neutron scattering, and the NIST neutron standard. Neutron beams can also characterize damage in plasma facing components (PFCs) for fusion energy, and test materials designed for isotope separations such as Aluminum Formate.
Polymers and Soft Matter
As largely organic systems, isotopic substitution of hydrogen with deuterium provides a powerful route to isolate polymer and colloidal structures, reducing complex systems to tractable measurements. The penetration depth of neutrons also empowers neutron techniques to measure these systems under processing conditions such as pressure, flow, extreme temperatures, and more.
Quantum and Magnetic Materials
Determination of the atomic scale magnetic structure of materials is nearly unique to neutron beam techniques. Neutron diffraction and reflectivity were key to the development of modern magnetic data storage technology and superconductivity based magnetic components. New research seeks to leverage the quantum nature of neutron beam wave packets to map electron entanglement within an operating Qubit, quantifying decoherence due to low Z impurities such as hydrogen.