METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR TIME-OF-FLIGHT NEUTRON INTERROGATION FOR MATERIAL DISCRIMINATION

摘要

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a time-of-flight based neutron inspection system.SOLUTION: A system employs a collimated beam of fast neutrons for interrogation of suspect areas in cargo. Elemental composition is determined as a function of depth. In order to determine the presence of contraband, the system performs steps of; generating a beam of deuterium ions; shaping the beam of deuterium ions into a narrow pulse width; irradiating a tritium target with a pulsed beam of deuterium ions to generate pulsed neutrons; directing the pulsed neutrons at a suspect area; detecting gamma rays generated through interaction of the pulsed neutrons with the suspect area; and analyzing time-of-flight data from gamma-ray detectors to identify materials in the suspect area.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2(a)