Real-Time Portable Neutron Spectroscopy

One of the critical gaps in homeland security is the inability to efficiently detect and identify kilogram-size samples of Special Nuclear Materials (SNM, uranium and transuranic elements). Unlike other forms of radiation produced by SNM (e.g. gamma rays), penetrating neutron emission is unique to fissionable material and difficult to obscure with passive shielding. The current state-of-the-art in neutron detection is not suitable for field applications. Michigan Aerospace Corporation, in collaboration with Professor James Ryan and his group at University of New Hampshire, proposes to develop a compact, light weight neutron spectroscopy instrument. This instrument, based on the successful Fast Neutron Imaging Telescope prototype, will be sensitive to neutron energies < 1 Mev, and will have a response time suitable for identification of materials both in passive and active interrogation. The proposed instrument is based on the Fast Neutron Imaging Telescope (FNIT), a Position Sensitive Plastic Scintillator Detector conceived and developed at the University of New Hampshire for the Inner Heliospheric Sentinels program. Such a neutron imaging device is highly suitable for locating SNM by detecting fission neutrons and reconstructing images of their source. The instrument will be able to locate a neutron point source and report the fission spectrum.