Detectors and Cultural Heritage: The INFN-CHNet Experience

• Published in: Applied sciences Vol. 11; no. 8; p. 3462
• Main Authors: Giuntini, Lorenzo, Castelli, Lisa, Massi, Mirko, Fedi, Mariaelena, Czelusniak, Caroline, Gelli, Nicla, Liccioli, Lucia, Giambi, Francesca, Ruberto, Chiara, Mazzinghi, Anna, Barone, Serena, Marchegiani, Francesca, Nisi, Stefano, Lubritto, Carmine, Altieri, Simona, Tortora, Luca, Branchini, Paolo, Fabbri, Andrea, Graziani, Valerio, Lins, Sergio Barcellos, Guidorzi, Laura, Lo Giudice, Alessandro, Re, Alessandro, Sottili, Leandro, Balerna, Antonella, Cestelli Guidi, Mariangela, Pronti, Lucilla, Romani, Martina, Albertin, Fauzia, Bettuzzi, Matteo, Brancaccio, Rosa, Morigi, Maria Pia, Alloni, Daniele, Salvini, Andrea, Smilgys, Barbara, Prata, Michele, Altieri, Saverio, Bonesini, Maurizio, Di Martino, Daniela, Clemenza, Massimiliano, Carpinelli, Massimo, Oliva, Piernicola, Sipala, Valeria, Gueli, Anna Maria, Pasquale, Stefania, Stella, Giuseppe, Pepponi, Giancarlo, Grazzi, Francesco, Taccetti, Francesco
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01-04-2021
• Subjects: Arrays; Complementarity; Cultural heritage; Cultural resources; detectors for mass spectrometry; Diodes; Efficiency; Electrodes; Energy; Energy resolution; Gamma rays; gamma-ray detectors; Instrumentation; Laboratories; neutron detectors; Noise; Nuclear physics; particle detectors; photon-counting detectors; Radiation; Sensors; Silicon wafers; Spectrometers; Spectrometry; Superconductors; X-ray detectors; X-rays
• ISSN: 2076-3417; 2076-3417
• DOI: 10.3390/app11083462

Detectors are a key feature of the contemporary scientific approach to cultural heritage (CH), both for diagnostics and conservation. INFN-CHNet is the network of the Italian National Institute of Nuclear Physics that develops and applies new instrumentation for the study of CH. This process results in both optimized traditional state-of-the-art and highly innovative detection setups for spectrometric techniques. Examples of the former are X-rays, gamma-rays, visible-light and particles spectrometers tailored for CH applications, with optimized performances, reliability, weight, transportability, cost, absorbed power, and complementarity with other techniques. Regarding the latter, examples are ARDESIA, the array of detectors at the DAΦNE-Light facility, the MAXRS detection setup at the Riken-RAL muon beamline and the imaging facilities at the LENA Laboratory. Paths for next-generation instruments have been suggested, as in the case of the X-ray Superconductive Detectors and X-ray Microcalorimeter Spectrometers, allowing astonishing improvement in energy resolution. Many issues in CH can now be addressed thanks to scientific techniques exploiting the existing detectors, while many others are still to be addressed and require the development of new approaches and detectors.