A COMPACT ACCELERATOR-BASED NEUTRON SOURCE FOR BAGGAGE INTERROGATION

THE USE OF THERMAL NEUTRONS AS A TOOL FOR BAGGAGE INSPECTIONIS AN ESTABLISHED TECHNIQUE, WITH A PROTOTYPE SYSTEM CURRENTLY BEING TESTED FOR AIRPORT FEASIBILITY AS AN EXPLOSIVE DETECTION DEVICE. THIS SYSTEM COULD POSSIBLY BE MODIFIED FOR INDIVIDUAL BAGGAGE IDENTIFICATION THROUGH THE USE OF IMAGING OR ACTIVATION DETECTION OF SUITABLE TAGS. HOWEVER, FEASIBILITY TESTING OF THIS CONCEPT AND THE COMMERCIAL REALIZATION OF A HIGH THROUGHPUT NEUTRON BAGGAGE INTERROGATION SYSTEM WILL REQUIRE THE DEVELOPMENT OF A COMPACT, RELIABLE NEUTRON SOURCE, PREFERABLY ONE THAT IS ELECTRICALLY DRIVEN AND DOES NOT USE RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS. THESE REQUIREMENTS CAN BE SATISFIED WITH THE RADIO FREQUENCYQUADRUPOLE (RFQ) LINEAR ACCELERATOR (LINAC), A REVOLUTIONARYNEW RF ACCELERATING STRUCTURE PROVEN CAPABLE OF EFFICIENTLY ACCELERATING HIGH ION CURRENTS IN A RUGGED, COMPACT SYSTEM. THE PROGRAM PROPOSED IS FOR THE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF A PROTOTYPE RFQ-BASED NEUTRON SOURCE TO PRODUCE GREATER THAN 109 NEUTRONS/SEC USING DEUTERIUM IONS BOMBARDING A THICK BERYLLIUM TARGET.