Ultraviolet digital imaging for nuclear safeguards

E. Michael Attas; G. R. Burton; J. Dennis Chen; Lars Hildingsson; A. Nilsson; O. Trepte; Gary J. Young

doi:10.1117/12.236110

25 March 1996 Ultraviolet digital imaging for nuclear safeguards

E. Michael Attas, G. R. Burton, J. Dennis Chen, Lars Hildingsson, A. Nilsson, O. Trepte, Gary J. Young

Proceedings Volume 2654, Solid State Sensor Arrays and CCD Cameras; (1996) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.236110
Event: Electronic Imaging: Science and Technology, 1996, San Jose, CA, United States

Abstract

An ultraviolet-sensitive scientific CCD camera has been tested at a power reactor facility to image the faint Cerenkov light from irradiated nuclear fuel. The instrument mates custom optical components (lens, UV-pass filter) to a commercial scientific camera (Astrocam 4100) with a coated frame-transfer CCD chip (EEV 37-10) to produce 12-bit images of 512 X 512 pixels at a near-real-time frame rate. A 250-mm f/2.6 catadioptric lens has been designed with transmissive optics optimized for this application, incorporating color correction for viewing through 10 m of water. The filter has an average transmission of 80% from 280 to 320 nm, with visible-light transmission of less than 0.01% to block artificial lighting in the fuel bay. Measurements were made with this instrument at the Ringhals Nuclear Power Plant, Varobacka, Sweden. Both fuel and non-fuel assemblies of boiling-water reactor type were studied. Performance is superior to that of the earlier Cerenkov viewing devices based on image intensifier tubes. Increased sensitivity extends the range of the Cerenkov verification technique to fuel with older discharge dates. Increased resolution allows fine details of the fuel to be examined for higher-confidence safeguards verification. Sample digital images are presented, and the advantages to irradiated-fuel verification of image quantitation, storage, transmission, and processing are discussed.

Citation Download Citation

E. Michael Attas, G. R. Burton, J. Dennis Chen, Lars Hildingsson, A. Nilsson, O. Trepte, and Gary J. Young "Ultraviolet digital imaging for nuclear safeguards", Proc. SPIE 2654, Solid State Sensor Arrays and CCD Cameras, (25 March 1996); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.236110

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