Nondestructive elemental depth-profiling analysis by muonic X-ray measurement

ミュオニックX線測定による非破壊深さ分解元素分析

二宮 和彦*; 久保 謙哉*; 長友 傑*; 髭本 亘  ; 伊藤 孝   ; 河村 成肇*; Strasser, P.*; 下村 浩一郎*; 三宅 康博*; 鈴木 栄男*; 小林 義男*; 坂元 眞一; 篠原 厚*; 齋藤 務*

Ninomiya, Kazuhiko*; Kubo, Kenya*; Nagatomo, Takashi*; Higemoto, Wataru; Ito, Takashi; Kawamura, Naritoshi*; Strasser, P.*; Shimomura, Koichiro*; Miyake, Yasuhiro*; Suzuki, Takao*; Kobayashi, Yoshio*; Sakamoto, Shinichi; Shinohara, Atsushi*; Saito, Tsutomu*

Elemental analysis of materials is fundamentally important to science and technology. Many elemental analysis methods have been developed, but three-dimensional nondestructive elemental analysis of bulk materials has remained elusive. Recently, we developed a nondestructive depth-profiling elemental analysis method after a decade of research. This new method utilizes a new type of probe; a negative muon particle and high-energy muonic X-rays emitted after the muon stops in a material. We performed elemental depth profiling on an old Japanese gold coin (Tempo-Koban) using a low-momentum negative muon beam and successfully determined that the Au concentration in the coin gradually decreased with depth over a micrometer length scale.