公开(公告)号：US08338795B1

公开(公告)日：2012-12-25

申请号：US12872700

申请日：2010-08-31

申请人： Nicholas Mascarenhas ,  Peter Marleau ,  Mark Gerling ,  Robert Lee Cooper ,  Stanley Mrowka ,  James S. Brennan

发明人： Nicholas Mascarenhas ,  Peter Marleau ,  Mark Gerling ,  Robert Lee Cooper ,  Stanley Mrowka ,  James S. Brennan

IPC分类号： G01T3/00

CPC分类号： G01T1/204 ,  G01T3/003 ,  G01V5/0091

摘要： An instrument that will directly image the fast fission neutrons from a special nuclear material source wherein the neutron detection efficiency is increased has been described. Instead of the previous technique that uses a time-of-flight (TOF) between 2 widely spaced fixed planes of neutron detectors to measure scatter neutron kinetic energy, we now use the recoil proton energy deposited in the second of the 2 scatter planes which can now be repositioned either much closer together or further apart. However, by doubling the separation distance between the 2 planes from 20 cm to a distance of 40 cm we improved the angular resolution of the detector from about 12° to about 10°. A further doubling of the separation distance to 80 cm provided an addition improvement in angular resolution of the detector to about 6° without adding additional detectors or ancillary electronics. The distance between planes also may be dynamically changed using a suitable common technique such as a gear- or motor-drive to toggle between the various positions. The angular resolution of this new configuration, therefore, is increased at the expanse of detection sensitivity. However, the diminished sensitivity may be acceptable for those applications where the detector is able to interrogate a particular site for an extended period.

摘要翻译： 已经描述了一种将特别的核材料源直接成像快速裂变中子的仪器，其中中子检测效率提高。 而不是以前使用中间探测器的两个广泛间隔的固定平面之间的飞行时间（TOF）的技术来测量分散中子动能，我们现在使用沉积在2个散射平面中的第二个散射平面中的反冲质子能量， 现在重新定位要么更紧密地在一起，要么进一步分开。 然而，通过将2个平面之间的距离从20厘米加倍到40厘米的距离，我们将检测器的角度分辨率从大约12°提高到大约10°。 将分离距离进一步加倍至80厘米，可以将检测器的角度分辨率提高至约6°，而无需添加额外的检测器或辅助电子设备。 平面之间的距离也可以使用诸如齿轮或电机驱动器之类的合适的常用技术动态地改变，以在各个位置之间切换。 因此，这种新配置的角度分辨率随着检测灵敏度的增加而增加。 然而，对于检测器能够长时间询问特定部位的那些应用，灵敏度的降低可能是可以接受的。