Non-destructive 3D imaging method using muonic X-rays and a CdTe double-sided strip detector

I-Huan Chiu; Shin'ichiro Takeda; Meito Kajino; Atsushi Shinohara; Miho Katsuragawa; Shunsaku Nagasawa; Ryota Tomaru; Goro Yabu; Tadayuki Takahashi; Shin Watanabe; Soshi Takeshita; Yasuhiro Miyake; Kazuhiko Ninomiya

doi:10.1038/s41598-022-09137-5

Non-destructive 3D imaging method using muonic X-rays and a CdTe double-sided strip detector

Sci Rep. 2022 Mar 28;12(1):5261. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-09137-5.

Authors

I-Huan Chiu¹, Shin'ichiro Takeda², Meito Kajino³, Atsushi Shinohara^{4

5}, Miho Katsuragawa², Shunsaku Nagasawa^{2

6}, Ryota Tomaru^{2

6}, Goro Yabu^{2

6}, Tadayuki Takahashi^{2

6}, Shin Watanabe⁷, Soshi Takeshita⁸, Yasuhiro Miyake⁸, Kazuhiko Ninomiya⁴

Affiliations

¹ Radioisotope Research Center, Institute for Radiation Sciences, Osaka University, 1-1, Machikaneyama, Toyonaka, Osaka, 560-0043, Japan. ichiu.irs@osaka-u.ac.jp.
² Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (WPI), The University of Tokyo, 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba, 277-8583, Japan.
³ Graduate School of Science, Osaka University, 1-1, Machikaneyama, Toyonaka, Osaka, 560-0043, Japan.
⁴ Radioisotope Research Center, Institute for Radiation Sciences, Osaka University, 1-1, Machikaneyama, Toyonaka, Osaka, 560-0043, Japan.
⁵ Faculty of Health Science, Osaka Aoyama University, 2-11-1 Niina, Minoh, Osaka, 562-8580, Japan.
⁶ Department of Physics, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo Bunkyo, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan.
⁷ Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (ISAS/JAXA), 3-1-1 Yoshinodai, Chuo-ku, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, 252-5210, Japan.
⁸ High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK), Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-0801, Japan.

Abstract

Elemental analysis based on muonic X-rays resulting from muon irradiation provides information about bulk material composition without causing damage, which is essential in the case of precious or otherwise unreachable samples, such as in archeology and planetary science. We developed a three-dimensional (3D) elemental analysis technique by combining the elemental analysis method based on negative muons with an imaging cadmium telluride double-sided strip detector (CdTe-DSD) designed for the hard X-ray and soft [Formula: see text]-ray observation. A muon irradiation experiment using spherical plastic samples was conducted at the Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex (J-PARC); a set of projection images was taken by the CdTe-DSD, equipped with a pinhole collimator, for different sample rotation angles. The projection images measured by the CdTe-DSD were utilized to obtain a 3D volumetric phantom by using the maximum likelihood expectation maximization algorithm. The reconstructed phantom successfully revealed the 3D distribution of carbon in the bulk samples and the stopping depth of the muons. This result demonstrated the feasibility of the proposed non-destructive 3D elemental analysis method for bulk material analysis based on muonic X-rays.