As we celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Powder Diffraction File, the PDF® is still a method for chemical and material analyses. The database and embedded software are designed to solve a range of solid-state material analysis problems that includes phase identification, quantitative analysis, crystallinity, and crystallite size measurements. A versatile platform allows users to interpret X-ray, electron, neutron, or synchrotron diffraction patterns for their analyses. Over several decades as diffraction hardware and software continued to improve, the International Centre for Diffraction Data continues to improve the methods and the PDF database, offering unprecedented analysis capabilities to the modern user.

In order to identify the density and material type, high energy protons, electrons, and heavy ions are used to radiograph dense objects. The particles pass through the object, undergo multiple coulomb scattering, and are focused onto an image plane by a magnetic lens system. A modified beam line at the Institute of Modern Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has been developed for heavy-ion radiography. It can radiograph a static object with a spatial resolution of about 65 µm (1 σ). This paper presents the heavy-ion radiography facility at the Institute of Modern Physics, including the beam optics, the simulation of radiography by Monte Carlo code and the experimental result with 600 MeV/u carbon ions. In addition, dedicated beam lines for proton radiography which are planned are also introduced.