Publications

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We present a neutron detector system based on time-encoded imaging, and demonstrate its applicability toward the spatial mapping of special nuclear material. We demonstrate that two-dimensional fast-neutron imaging with 2° resolution at 2 m stand-off is feasible with only two instrumented detectors.

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Material Identification by Resonant Attenuation is a technique that measures the energy-dependent attenuation of 1-10 MeV neutrons as they pass through a sample. Elemental information is determined from the neutron absorption resonances unique to each element. With sufficient energy resolution, these resonances can be used to categorize a wide range of materials, serving as a powerful discrimination technique between explosives, contraband, and other materials. Our proposed system is unique in that it simultaneously down-scatters and time tags neutrons in scintillator detectors oriented between a d-T generator and sample. This allows not only for energy measurements without pulsed neutron beams, but for sample interrogation over a large range of relevant energies, vastly improving scan times. Our system’s core advantage is a potential breakthrough ability to provide detection discrimination of threat materials by their elemental composition (e.g. water vs. hydrogen peroxide) without opening the container. However, several technical and computational challenges associated with this technique have yet to be addressed. There are several open questions: what is the sensitivity to different materials, what scan times are necessary, what are the sources of background, how do each of these scale as the detector system is made larger, and how can the system be integrated into existing scanning technology to close current detection gaps? In order to prove the applicability of this technology, we will develop a validated model to optimize the design and characterize the uncertainties in the measurement, and then test the system in a real-world scenario. This project seeks to perform R&D and laboratory tests that demonstrate proof of concept (TRL 3) to establishing an integrated system and evaluating its performance (TRL 4) through both laboratory tests and a validated detector model. The validated model will allow us to explore our technology’s benefits to explosive detection in various applications.

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This note summarizes an effort to characterize the effects of adding water-based liquid scintillator to the WATCHMAN detector. A detector model was built in the Geant4 Monte Carlo toolkit, and the position reconstruction of positrons within the detector was compared with and without scintillator. This study highlights the need for further modeling studies and small-scale experimental studies before inclusion into a large-scale detector, as the benefits compared to the associated costs are unclear.

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A spallation based multiplicity detector has been constructed and deployed to the Kimballton Underground Research Facility to measure the cosmogenic fast neutron flux anti-coincident from the initiating muon. Two of the three planned measurements have been completed (~380 and ~600 m.w.e) with sufficient statistics. The third measurement at level 14 (~4450 m.w.e.) is currently being performed. Current results at ~600 m.w.e. compare favourably to the one previous measurement at 550 m.w.e. For neutron energies between 100 and 200 MeV measurements at ~380 m.w.e. produce fluxes between 1e^-8 and 7e^-9 n/cm²/s/MeV and at ~600 m.w.e. measurements produce fluxes between 7e^-9 and 1e^-11 n/cm²/s/MeV.

Antineutrino monitoring of nuclear reactors has been demonstrated many times, however the technique has not as of yet been developed into a useful capability for treaty verification purposes. The most notable drawback is the current requirement that detectors be deployed underground, with at least several meters-water-equivalent of shielding from cosmic radiation. In addition, the deployment of liquid-based detector media presents a challenge in reactor facilities. We are currently developing a detector system that has the potential to operate above ground and circumvent deployment problems associated with a liquid detection media: the system is composed of segments of plastic scintillator surrounded by ⁶LiF/ZnS:Ag. ZnS:Ag is a radio-luminescent phosphor used to detect the neutron capture products of lithium-6. Because of its long decay time compared to standard plastic scintillators, pulse-shape discrimination can be used to distinguish positron and neutron interactions resulting from the inverse beta decay (IBD) of antineutrinos within the detector volume, reducing both accidental and correlated backgrounds. Segmentation further reduces backgrounds by identifying the positron’s annihilation gammas, which are absent for most correlated and uncorrelated backgrounds. This work explores different configurations in order to maximize the size of the detector segments without reducing the intrinsic neutron detection efficiency. We believe this technology will ultimately be applicable to potential safeguards scenarios such as those recently described.

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Time-encoded imaging is an approach to directional radiation detection that is being developed at SNL with a focus on fast neutron directional detection. In this technique, a time modulation of a detected neutron signal is inducedtypically, a moving mask that attenuates neutrons with a time structure that depends on the source position. An important challenge in time-encoded imaging is to develop high-resolution two-dimensional imaging capabilities; building a mechanically moving high-resolution mask presents challenges both theoretical and technical. We have investigated an alternative to mechanical masks that replaces the solid mask with a liquid such as mineral oil. Instead of fixed blocks of solid material that move in pre-defined patterns, the oil is contained in tubing structures, and carefully introduced air gapsbubblespropagate through the tubing, generating moving patterns of oil mask elements and air apertures. Compared to current moving-mask techniques, the bubble mask is simple, since mechanical motion is replaced by gravity-driven bubble propagation; it is flexible, since arbitrary bubble patterns can be generated by a software-controlled valve actuator; and it is potentially high performance, since the tubing and bubble size can be tuned for high-resolution imaging requirements. We have built and tested various single-tube mask elements, and will present results on bubble introduction and propagation as a function of tubing size and cross-sectional shape; real-time bubble position tracking; neutron source imaging tests; and reconstruction techniques demonstrated on simple test data as well as a simulated full detector system.

Time-encoded imaging is an approach to directional radiation detection that is being developed at SNL with a focus on fast neutron directional detection. In this technique, a time modulation of a detected neutron signal is induced - typically, a moving mask that attenuates neutrons with a time structure that depends on the source position. An important challenge in time-encoded imaging is to develop high-resolution two-dimensional imaging capabilities; building a mechanically moving high-resolution mask presents challenges both theoretical and technical. We have investigated an alternative to mechanical masks that replaces the solid mask with a liquid such as mineral oil. Instead of fixed blocks of solid material that move in predefined patterns, the oil is contained in tubing structures, and carefully introduced air gaps - bubbles - propagate through the tubing, generating moving patterns of oil mask elements and air apertures. Compared to current moving-mask techniques, the bubble mask is simple, since mechanical motion is replaced by gravity-driven bubble propagation; it is flexible, since arbitrary bubble patterns can be generated by a software-controlled valve actuator; and it is potentially high performance, since the tubing and bubble size can be tuned for high-resolution imaging requirements. We have built and tested various single-tube mask elements, and will present results on bubble introduction and propagation for different tube sizes and cross-sectional shapes; real-time bubble position tracking; neutron source imaging tests; and reconstruction techniques demonstrated on simple test data as well as a simulated full detector system. © 2013 IEEE.