HIGHLY DIRECTIONAL AND SENSITIVE GAMMA/NEUTRON DETECTOR

A HIGHLY SENSITIVE AND DIRECTIONAL NUCLEAR RADIATION DETECTION SYSTEM,RESPONDING TO LOW-LEVEL GAMMA-RADIATION AND LOW NEUTRON FLUX, WOULD BEIMPORTANT IN THE AREA OF DECOY DISCRIMINATION AND/OR AS A WARNING DEVICE AGAINST THREAT PARTICLE BEAM WEAPONS. FOR EXAMPLE, ACTIVE ILLUMINATION OF A POTENTIAL SPACE THREAT WITH A PARTICLE BEAM REQUIRESA HIGHLY DIRECTIONAL SENSOR FOR DISCRIMINATION PURPOSES. ONE APPROACHTO ADDRESS THIS NEED IS A DETECTOR COMPRISED OF A TIGHTLY PACKAGED ARRAY OF SCINTILLATOR OPTICAL FIBERS CONNECTED ON EITHER END TO A MICROCHANNEL PMT. A DESIGN ANALYSIS IS BEING PERFORMED TO OPTIMIZE THE DIRECTIONALITY OF THE PROPOSED SYSTEM. THE TRADE-OFFS BEING EXAMINED INCLUDE THE LENGTH-TO-DIAMETER RATIO OF A PARTICULAR SCINTILLATOR FIBER, ENERGY SPECTRUM OF IONIZING RADIATION ABSORPTION CROSS SECTIONS AND THE TOTAL NUMBER OF PLASTIC INORGANIC FIBERS. A SIMPLE DEMONSTRATION UNIT IS BEING DESIGNED AND ASSEMBLED BASED UPON PROPRIETARY HARDWARE ALREADY DEVELOPED. THE SYSTEM FEATURES SEVERAL RADIATION SENSITIVE FIBERS AND CONFIGURATIONS AND A SEGMENTED MICROCHANNEL PMT. THE SENSITIVITY AND DIRECTIONALITY OF THE DEMONSTRATION UNIT IS BEING TESTED. A SYSTEM FOR COMMERCIAL USE CAN BE DESIGNED FOR MONITORING RADIATION IN A NUCLEAR POWER PLANT OR LEAKAGE FROM NUCLEAR STORAGE FACILITIES.