PorTo: new high-resolution neutron tomograph for micro-imaging

The ILL new cold neutron micro-tomography instrument - PorTo - has just been commissioned, marking a significant expansion of the Institute’s neutron imaging capabilities. PorTo is designed to deliver high-resolution 3D imaging for a broad range of applications, from materials science and engineering to life sciences.

During its first and successful commissioning cycle, PorTo captured a detailed tomography of a porous polycarbonate foam mimicking cancellous bone microstructure. This first demonstration showed the instrument’s ability to distinguish multiple materials simultaneously, and confirmed that the system is fully operational with dedicated high-resolution detectors, now fully commissioned. Further developments will expand the high-resolution capabilities even further, offering to the user community a high-resolution tomography seamlessly - with the setups readily installed, entailing minimal logistics before experiments.

PorTo is also already proving valuable for applied research. Early commissioning experiments include imaging the microstructure of additively manufactured auxetic steel foams, engineered to withstand high-impact forces, as well as exploring the potential of (phase-)contrast enhanced micro-imaging of small biological specimens such as bees. These studies aim to reveal internal micro-structures that are challenging to capture and serve as important complementary information that other potential imaging techniques struggle to capture in detail and in 3D.

PorTo is currently being installed at the H113 neutron guide where it is planned to operate every 3 cycles. Its compact beam design with a cold neutron spectrum allows for very high spatial resolution imaging, making it ideal for long-duration, detailed (operando) studies in materials, medical, and energy research. The addition of PorTo, alongside MoTo and NeXT, represents a significant step in ILL’s strategy to expand neutron imaging capacity, complementing its imaging portfolio offered to the user community while meeting the growing demand from both academic and industrial users.

In its first week of operation, PorTo joined MoTo and NeXT in running user experiments simultaneously for the first time - a milestone highlighting the ILL’s growing focus on progressing applied science. PorTo alone welcomed nine experiments spanning across cultural heritage, energy storage, and next-generation battery materials with users coming from 15 different academic and research institutes.