A Novel Non-3He based Dual Neutron Gamma Sensor

AbstraktAbstract

Our project is driven by both a commercial and a legislative needs which we see as a significant opportunity to ourselves and our current and perspective partners. Traditionally neutrons have been detected using 3He gas in Geiger-Muller tubes. 3He is extremely rare on the earth surface and has been available almost exclusively as a byproduct of the manufacture of nuclear weapons using tritium. 3He is the decay product of Tritium. For this reason, 3He is not a traded product and is strictly controlled by governments. Recent reductions to the nuclear weapons arsenals have led to the notion that the existing supplies of 3He are falling down rapidly and there is a recognized legislative need in Europe and the USA to find a suitable substitute. It is therefore a definitive competitive advantage to offer a neutron detector which is independent of 3He on the international market. Our approach is to build on the success of our most current instrument, the ComptonVision (developed with the help of the Eurostars program) by our partners. ComtonVision combines the best available room temperature detectors with electronic trough the Compton effect based on the use of CZT (Cadmium Zinc Teluride). CZT is a semi-conductor crystal that has the advantage of being able to produce very accurate sensors in terms of spectral resolution (<1% @662 keV) without requiring cryogenic cooling, which is required by competitive technologies e.g. high purity germanium sensors. This gives the instrument excellent isotope identification properties combined with location and dose rate information. Adding neutron detection capability to the instrument expands its usability for the customers as they now also will be able to detect also fissile materials. In a typical scenario the fissile material is often surrounded by fissile products with a high gamma ray emission rate, much higher than the fissile material itself. The only way to detect the fissile material in this situation is by neutron counting

Our project is driven by both a commercial and a legislative needs which we see as a significant opportunity to ourselves and our current and perspective partners. Traditionally neutrons have been detected using 3He gas in Geiger-Muller tubes. 3He is extremely rare on the earth surface and has been available almost exclusively as a byproduct of the manufacture of nuclear weapons using tritium. 3He is the decay product of Tritium. For this reason, 3He is not a traded product and is strictly controlled by governments. Recent reductions to the nuclear weapons arsenals have led to the notion that the existing supplies of 3He are falling down rapidly and there is a recognized legislative need in Europe and the USA to find a suitable substitute. It is therefore a definitive competitive advantage to offer a neutron detector which is independent of 3He on the international market. Our approach is to build on the success of our most current instrument, the ComptonVision (developed with the help of the Eurostars program) by our partners. ComtonVision combines the best available room temperature detectors with electronic trough the Compton effect based on the use of CZT (Cadmium Zinc Teluride). CZT is a semi-conductor crystal that has the advantage of being able to produce very accurate sensors in terms of spectral resolution (<1% @662 keV) without requiring cryogenic cooling, which is required by competitive technologies e.g. high purity germanium sensors. This gives the instrument excellent isotope identification properties combined with location and dose rate information. Adding neutron detection capability to the instrument expands its usability for the customers as they now also will be able to detect also fissile materials. In a typical scenario the fissile material is often surrounded by fissile products with a high gamma ray emission rate, much higher than the fissile material itself. The only way to detect the fissile material in this situation is by neutron counting

VýsledkyResults

• SiC based charged particle strip sensor spectrometer with neutron detection capabilitySiC based charged particle strip sensor spectrometer with neutron detection capability
• Pixelated gamma ray spectrometerPixelated gamma ray spectrometer
• Neutron sensitive gamma ray spectrometerNeutron sensitive gamma ray spectrometer