The study of cultural heritage relevant objects by means of neutron imaging techniques

The use of non-invasive and non-destructive methods is highly relevant for cultural heritage objects in particular, due to their uniqueness and the often high cost of material as well as immaterial value. It is, however, of great importance to gain a simple overview of their material distribution, the manufacturing techniques, the provenance and the current condition (for example the determination of possible damage) by transmission imaging techniques.<br /> While X-ray imaging is often sufficient for such investigations, there are numerous cases where the method reaches its limits. Here, the complementarities of neutrons applied in a similar manner can provide new insights into the object studied. The better transmission for metals and the higher contrast for organic materials can already be exploited in the simple neutron radiography mode.<br /> More advanced are the neutron tomography methods, which are available at the neutron imaging facilities of the Paul Scherrer Institut (PSI) on a wide dimensional scale range. Virtual slices through the objects at arbitrary positions enable deeper perceptions and also dimensional determinations in full 3D.<br /> Further methodical improvements have been developed. Narrowing the neutron energy band allows information on the microcrystalline structure to be obtained directly, and using phase-contrast and dark-field techniques by means of a grating interferometer device enables a deeper understanding of the material compositions and structures. The examples in this paper are chosen to demonstrate the application range of neutron imaging and the performance of the different set-ups.

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