High energy x-y neutron detector and radiographic/tomographic device
USRE36201E · kind E · reissue
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 23, 1997 |
| Grant date | Apr 27, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 23, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC —)General
Abstract
An improved fast neutron x-y detector and radiographic/tomographic device utilizing a white neutron probe (4). The invention includes a multiple scattering filter (44), radiographic and tomographic imaging of the number densities of atoms in small volume increments through a sample 32 and the atomic, chemical and physical structure of a sample, (32), and neural net analysis techniques, where the neural net is trained through use of simulated volume increments. The invention detects fast neutrons over a two dimensional plane, measures the energy of the neutrons, and discriminates against gamma rays. In a preferred embodiment, the detector face is constructed by stacking separate bundles (6) of scintillating fiber optic strands (20) one on top of the other. The first x-y coordinate is determined by which bundle (6) the neutron strikes. The other x-y coordinate is calculated by measuring the difference in time of flight for the scintillation photon to travel to the opposite ends of the fiber optic strand 20. In another embodiment, the detector is constructed of discrete scintillator sections (48) connected to fiber optic strands (52) by couplers (50) functioning as lens. The fiber opt…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.