TECHNICAL PAPERS
Using Commercial Instruments and Free Software
Shimadzu Review 82[3・4] (2026)
Abstract
Mechanoluminescent (ML) materials are becoming an increasingly common technology, one example being an aqueous ML paint developed by Shimadzu and marketed through partner companies. Although ML materials can provide crucial insights into material behavior, unfamiliarity with experimental methods that best utilize these materials is a barrier to their wider adoption. First, this article describes the equipment needed to measure mechanoluminescence from ML materials. Secondly, this article explains how to analyze these mechanoluminescent signals by describing the operation and structure of a simple image analysis macro created for ImageJ, a free image analysis software. Familiarity with the tools and methods described in this article should help the wider adoption of ML materials.
Research & Development Department, Analytical & Measuring Instruments Division, Shimadzu Corporation, Kyoto, Japan
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