Prototype Compton imager for special nuclear material

Eric A. Wulf; Bernard F. Phlips; James D. Kurfess; Elena I. Novikova; Carrie Fitzgerald

doi:10.1117/12.665546

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24 May 2006 Prototype Compton imager for special nuclear material

Eric A. Wulf, Bernard F. Phlips, James D. Kurfess, Elena I. Novikova, Carrie Fitzgerald

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Proceedings Volume 6213, Non-Intrusive Inspection Technologies; 62130E (2006) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.665546
Event: Defense and Security Symposium, 2006, Orlando (Kissimmee), Florida, United States

Abstract

Compton imagers offer a method for passive detection of nuclear material over background radiation. A prototype Compton imager has been constructed using 8 layers of silicon detectors. Each layer consists of a 2×2 array of 2 mm thick cross-strip double-sided silicon detectors with active areas of 5.7 × 5.7 cm² and 64 strips per side. The detectors are daisy-chained together in the array so that only 256 channels of electronics are needed to read-out each layer of the instrument. This imager is a prototype for a large, high-efficiency Compton imager that will meet operational requirements of Homeland Security for detection of shielded uranium. The instrument can differentiate between different radioisotopes using the reconstructed gamma-ray energy and can also show the location of the emissions with respect to the detector location. Results from the current instrument as well as simulations of the next generation instrument are presented.

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Eric A. Wulf, Bernard F. Phlips, James D. Kurfess, Elena I. Novikova, and Carrie Fitzgerald "Prototype Compton imager for special nuclear material", Proc. SPIE 6213, Non-Intrusive Inspection Technologies, 62130E (24 May 2006); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.665546

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