Trip to NITech and SPring8 with Project G
Between 10 and 15 December 2023, doctoral researcher Hongyi Deng and his PI Dr. Maria Rita Cicconi from Project G travelled to Japan to visit our partner institution Nagoya Institute of Technology (NITech) and synchrotron radiation facility SPring8. They were accompanied by associated post-doctoral researcher Prof. Dr. Koji Kimura and Project G PI, on the Japanese side, Prof. Dr. Tomokatsu Hayakawa from NITech.
The aim of the visit was on the one hand to conduct high energy XRD experiments with Synchrotron at SPring-8. With this kind of experiment, the information about molecule bonding can be found out, so that the evolution of structure can be more clear. Doctoral researcher Hongyi Deng was there to prepare samples, exchange them into the equipment and learn how to run the measurement and analyse the data. It was his first time doing experimens with Synchotron. He go nice results, and him and his PI they got a valuable beamtime there.
On the other hand, AFM/PFM experiments were carried out at NITech. With those one can clearly observe the piezoelectric response from the crystal. By comparing the strain response between glass and glass-ceramics, the piezoelectric property of nano crystal can be proved.
Finally, there were some project discussions with Prof. Dr. Hayakawa and Prof. Dr. Koichi Hayashi about the plan of Hongyis longer research stay. Hongyi Deng’s goal is to apply more beam time and to study from Prof. Dr. Alexander Martin on AFM/PFM experiments more deeply to characterize the piezoelectric crystal. Furthermore, he wants to study from Prof. Dr. Masaaki Haneda on XPS measurements, from Prof. Dr. Hayakawa on TEM measurements and in addition to that he will produce some glass and glass-ceramic samples at NITech.
The trip to Japan helped Hongyi Deng understand how Synchrotron works and consequently provided him a possibility to delve more into his study. Also, it was a great opportunity to talk with people in the field. Fortunately, the results were successful, which can help in publishing good papers.