Bode Peter
Department of Radiation, Radionuclides and Reactors, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Reactor Institute Delft, Delft University of Technology, Mekelweg 15, 2629 JB Delft, The Netherlands.
J Radioanal Nucl Chem. 2012;291(2):275-280. doi: 10.1007/s10967-011-1193-9. Epub 2011 Jun 3.
Neutron activation laboratories worldwide are at a turning point at which new staff has to be found for the retiring pioneers from the 1960s-1970s. A scientific career in a well-understood technique, often characterized as 'mature' may only be attractive to young scientists if still challenges for further improvement and inspiring new applications can be offered. The strengths and weaknesses of neutron activation analysis (NAA) are revisited to identify opportunities for innovation. Position-sensitive detection of elements in large samples, Monte Carlo calculations replacing the use of standards, use of scintillator detectors and new deconvolution techniques for increasing the sensitivity are examples of challenging new roads in NAA. Material science provides challenges for the application of NAA in both bulk samples, ultrathin layers and ultrapure materials.
全球的中子活化实验室正处于一个转折点，必须为20世纪60年代至70年代退休的先驱者寻找新员工。在一项被广泛理解、通常被认为“成熟”的技术领域开展科学事业，只有当仍能提供进一步改进的挑战和激发新应用的机会时，才可能吸引年轻科学家。本文重新审视了中子活化分析（NAA）的优缺点，以确定创新机会。对大样本中的元素进行位置敏感检测、用蒙特卡罗计算取代标准物质的使用、使用闪烁体探测器以及采用新的反卷积技术来提高灵敏度，这些都是NAA中具有挑战性的新途径。材料科学对NAA在块状样品、超薄层和超纯材料中的应用提出了挑战。
