Practical courses

Students will participate in ONE practical course from their preference list only.

A. Inelastic and Quasielastic Neutron Scattering

Inelastic and Quasielastic neutron scattering can study microscopic vibrations of atoms and spins which are referred to as "Dynamics". Since such atomic or spin dynamics are directly related to the fundamental properties of condensed matters such as hardness, sonic velocity, heat transport, magnetism, diffusion, etc., inelastic and quasielastic neutron scattering plays a central role in experimental tools to investigate condensed matters.

A-1 The Study of Crystal Lattice Dynamics using Inelastic Neutron Scattering – BL01

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.

A-2 The Study of Hydrogen Ion Dynamics using Quasielastic Neutron Scattering – BL02

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 for polymer electrolyte fuel cells. At the same time, students will learn how to analyze the data of typical quasielastic neutron scattering experiment.

A-3 The Study of Liquid Dynamics using Inelastic and Quasielastic Neutron Scattering – BL14

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

B. Studying surfaces and interfaces using neutron reflectometry – BL16

By measuring the angle-dependent intensity of neutrons reflected from a sample surface, it is possible to probe interfacial structure on a scale from a few nm to 100s of nm. Using the high-intensity pulsed neutron beam at J-PARC MLF, it is possible to:

In this course, students will be taught the fundamentals of neutron reflectometry, measure the reflectivity profile of an organic thin film on SOFIA and receive instruction in the analysis of reflectivity data using the Parratt formalism.

C. Structural Analysis using the Small and Wide Angle Neutron Scattering Instrument – BL15

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:

D. The structural analysis of single crystals using neutron diffraction

The physical properties and functionality of a material are intrinsically linked to the arrangement of the atoms within it. Diffraction methods are frequently used to determine the atomic-scale structure of crystalline materials and neutron single crystal diffraction is particularly well-suited to the study of materials where the functionality depends on the position and translation of low atomic number elements such as H and O.

D-1 Structure Study using Neutron Single Crystal diffraction: Bio-Molecule – BL03

In this course, basic lectures about neutron single crystal structure analysis using BL03 (iBIX) will be given followed by actual data collection, data reduction and data analyses exercises. Note that a traning course at iBIX will use bio-molecular samples.

D-2 Structure Study using Neutron Single Crystal diffraction: Small Molecules/Inorganic Materials – BL18

In this course, basic lectures about neutron single crystal structure analysis using BL18 (SENJU) will be given followed by actual data collection, data reduction and data analyses exercises. Note that a traning course at SENJU will use small molecules/inorganic materials.

E. Structural Analysis using Neutron Powder Diffraction – BL20

Neutron powder diffraction is useful method for crystal structure analysis. The crystal structure study is very important for materials research and developments, because the relationship between the crystal structure and the physical properties are sometimes important.

In this course, students will get a lecture about the basics of neutron powder diffraction structure, and will perform the exercises for Rietveld analysis as well as the measurement using a general-purpose powder neutron diffraction instrument iMATERIA.

F. Engineering Studies using Neutron Diffraction – BL19

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, 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.

G. Muon Spin Rotation/Relaxation/Resonance (μSR) - D1 experimental area

Muon spin relaxation is capable of measuring

by probing the local fields at the position of muon absorption.

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 the opportunity to collect μSR data on the D1 spectrometer and will receive instruction in data analysis. An introductory lecture on μSR will also be given as part of the School.

H. Measuring neutron capture cross sections – BL04

Capture cross sections indicate the likelihood of interaction between some atomic nucleus and a neutron. They are extremely important in the simulated calculation of nuclear reactions. While theoretical values for neutron capture cross sections are frequently used, they often have large uncertainties or are simply incorrect.

It is very desirable, therefore, that accurate measurements of neutron/nucleas capture cross sections are obtained and BL04 ANNRI is designed specifically for this purpose.

In this course, students will learn the basics of nuclear reaction and cross-section measurement, and participate in trial neutron capture cross section measurements and data analysis for tin stable isotopes using ANNRI, and then compare the obtained cross sections with the calculated values.