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Volume 6 Issue 2
Jun.  2022
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Abstract
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Neutron transmission imaging with a portable D-T neutron generator

  • Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, 94550, USA

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This work was supported by the US DOE NNSA NA-22, NA-84, and LLNL-LDRD 20-SI-001, and was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344.

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  • Received Date: September 28, 2021
  • Revised Date: December 21, 2021
  • Accepted Date: December 29, 2021
  • Available Online: October 17, 2022
  • Published Date: February 26, 2022
    Abstract
  • Purpose A portable fast-neutron imaging system is being developed to provide complementary information to field X-ray imaging. Applications include inspection of vehicles and infrastructure for corrosion, measurement of material levels in containers, and inspection of munitions and suspicious packages. While fast-neuron imaging generally provides lower imaging resolution compared to X-rays, fast-neutron interaction cross-sections have a weak dependence on material Z. This enables imaging of low-Z materials inside high-Z materials. Here, we discuss the limitations and current improvements in fast-neuron imaging.
    Methods Limitations in portable fast-neutron imaging systems include low D-T neutron generator output, low light production in ZnS(Cu) imaging scintillators, low resolution due to scintillator thickness and D-T spot size, and digital-panel darknoise that varies in time and position and that can be 100× larger than the neutron signal. We have made improvements in these areas through development of a segmented high light yield scintillator, panel noise mitigation techniques, and testing of new high-output, small spot size D-T neutron generators.
    Results The segmented high light yield fast-neutron scintillator demonstrated 5× increase in light compared to ZnS(Cu). An additional 2× improvement in signal-to-noise was demonstrated with panel-noise mitigation techniques. Our MCNP calculations also show good agreement with neutron imaging results
    Conclusions We have demonstrated improvements in fast-neutron imaging through development of a segmented high light yield neutron scintillator, mitigation of digital panel noise, and preliminary testing with new high-output, small spot size D-T neutron generators. We have also demonstrated good results modeling fast-neutron images and scatter effects using MCNP.
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    • References (11)
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