Composite Gamma-Neutron Detection System
First Claim
1. A system for detection of neutrons and gamma rays, comprising:
- a plurality of scintillator screens comprising thermal neutron absorber materials, said materials interacting with neutrons to emit heavy particles, and said heavy particles interacting with scintillator screens to produce light,a plurality of light guides into which said scintillator screens are embedded, said light guides serving as a neutron moderating medium,a first photodetector which receives the produced light through said light guides, and converts the light to a measurable signal,a plastic scintillator producing light on interaction with gamma-rays,a reflector placed between said plastic scintillator and said scintillator screens to prevent cross-contamination between optical signals from the neutron and gamma detection materials,a second photodetector which collects the produced light from said plastic scintillator, and converts the light to a measurable signal, anda first counter and a second counter for counting pulses generated by the first photodetector and the second photodetector, respectively.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention provides a gamma-neutron detector based on mixtures of thermal neutron absorbers that produce heavy-particle emission following thermal capture. The detector consists of one or more thin screens embedded in transparent hydrogenous light guides, which also serve as a neutron moderator. The emitted particles interact with the scintillator screen and produce a high light output, which is collected by the light guides into a photomultiplier tube and produces a signal from which the neutrons are counted. Simultaneous gamma-ray detection is provided by replacing the light guide material with a plastic scintillator. The plastic scintillator serves as the gamma-ray detector, moderator and light guide. The neutrons and gamma-ray events are separated employing Pulse-Shape Discrimination (PSD). The detector can be used in several scanning configurations including portal, drive-through, drive-by, handheld and backpack, etc.
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Citations
27 Claims
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1. A system for detection of neutrons and gamma rays, comprising:
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a plurality of scintillator screens comprising thermal neutron absorber materials, said materials interacting with neutrons to emit heavy particles, and said heavy particles interacting with scintillator screens to produce light, a plurality of light guides into which said scintillator screens are embedded, said light guides serving as a neutron moderating medium, a first photodetector which receives the produced light through said light guides, and converts the light to a measurable signal, a plastic scintillator producing light on interaction with gamma-rays, a reflector placed between said plastic scintillator and said scintillator screens to prevent cross-contamination between optical signals from the neutron and gamma detection materials, a second photodetector which collects the produced light from said plastic scintillator, and converts the light to a measurable signal, and a first counter and a second counter for counting pulses generated by the first photodetector and the second photodetector, respectively. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A system for detection of neutrons and gamma rays, comprising:
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a plurality of screens comprising of thermal neutron absorber materials, said materials interacting with neutrons to emit heavy particles; a plastic scintillator into which said screens are embedded, said plastic scintillator producing light on interaction with said heavy particles and serving as a neutron moderator and light guide; at least one photodetector which collects the produced light and converts the light to a measurable signal, and a Pulse-Shape Discrimination (PSD) circuit that separates the neutron and gamma-ray events measured by the at least one photodetector. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A gamma-neutron detector, comprising:
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a first gamma-sensitive scintillation panel; a second gamma-sensitive scintillation panel; and a neutron detector, wherein said neutron detector is positioned between the first gamma-sensitive scintillation panel and the second gamma-sensitive scintillation panel. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A system for detection of neutrons and gamma rays, comprising:
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a plurality of scintillator screens comprising thermal neutron absorber materials, said materials interacting with neutrons to emit heavy particles, and said heavy particles interacting with scintillator screens to produce light, a plurality of light guides into which said scintillator screens are embedded, said light guides serving as a neutron moderating medium, a first photodetector which receives the produced light through said light guides, and converts the light to a measurable signal, a plastic scintillator producing light on interaction with gamma-rays, a reflector placed between said plastic scintillator and said scintillator screens to prevent cross-contamination between optical signals from the neutron and gamma detection materials, and a second photodetector which collects the produced light from said plastic scintillator, and converts the light to a measurable signal. - View Dependent Claims (27)
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Specification