Tomography
X-ray tomography acquires a series of 2D projection images around a sample and reconstructs them into a 3D volume, revealing internal pore networks, crack patterns, and microstructural heterogeneity without sectioning the sample. As a hard skill it requires optimizing source energy and detector settings for the material density, achieving adequate sample-to-detector contrast, and using reconstruction and segmentation software such as Dragonfly, Avizo, or ImageJ to extract quantitative 3D metrics including porosity, tortuosity, and particle size. Battery researchers apply tomography to visualize electrode architectures and degradation, track lithium plating and void formation in cycled anodes, and measure tortuosity factors that govern electrolyte transport and rate performance.
