Compact and Efficient Cold and Thermal Neutron Collimators

New neutron radiographic imaging facilities at the Spallation Neutron Source will require detectors with better position resolution and rate capability than available with existing technologies. This project will develop a novel type of compact thermal neutron collimator for these detectors. These compact collimators can be employed to effectively reduce post scattered neutrons arriving at the detector, providing improved contrast and higher spatial resolution for nuclear physics researchers. Phase I will assess the cold and thermal neutron performance of selected collimators using a high resolution neutron-sensitive detector. Phase II would further optimize the collimator and construct a full hardware system with alignment mechanisms and procedure. Commercial Applications and other Benefits as described by the awardee: The improvement in detection sensitivity expected from these new thermal neutron components would provide neutron radiographic imaging systems with significantly higher spatial resolution. Beyond the application for nuclear physics, the technology could support such diverse areas as biological imaging e.g., in situ root growing; inspection of nuclear fuel, explosives detection, analysis of museum objects