Transition Edge Sensors (TES) are a core focus at QUP and aims to forge innovation for a wide range of applications including atomic, molecular and nuclear physics as well as space observations with X-ray and micro-wave radio signal. It offers higher energy resolution and detection efficiency that can overcome the challenges of conventional semiconductors detectors.

The latest advancement using TES can be seen in the “Application of transition-edge sensor for micro-X-ray fluorescence measurements and micro-X-ray absorption near edge structure spectroscopy: A case study of uranium speciation in biotite obtained from uranium mine” published on April 9, 2024 in “Analyst,” a journal issued the Royal Society of Chemistry (UK).

QUP postdoctoral fellow Ryota Hayakawa, along with others from multiple institutes, succeeded in accurately identifying the distribution of trace uranium in a real environmental sample — formerly infeasible with conventional semiconductor detectors. Tested with microbeam X-rays at SPring-8, a large synchrotron radiation facility, located in the Harima Science Park City in Hyogo Prefecture in Japan, they achieved insights into the mechanisms of uranium retention in minerals. This accomplishment further validates TES's superior ability to analyze trace amounts of uranium and its applications are expected to extend beyond uranium to other elements, promising broader environmental sample analysis.

Related link
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1039/d4an00059e

Press release from Rykkyo University (in Japanese)
https://www.rikkyo.ac.jp/news/2024/04/mknpps000002i3xx.html