Journal Article

IMPULSE-2025-00100

http://join2-wiki.gsi.de/foswiki/pub/Main/Artwork/join2_logo100x88.png Large field-of-view event-mode camera for high-precision epithermal neutron resonance imaging

Hirsh, T. Y. (Corresponding author) ; Long, A. M. ; Losko, A. S.MLZ* ; Jaeger, T. T. ; Wolfertz, A.MLZ* ; Vogel, S. C.

2025
Springer Nature [London]

Please use a persistent id in citations: doi:10.1038/s41598-025-96789-8

Abstract: A large-area event-mode camera system coupled with a LiF-ZnS:Ag scintillator is applied for neutron resonance imaging (NRI) on the energy-resolved neutron imaging (ERNI) flight path, also known as Flight Path 5 (FP5), at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE). This novel neutron imaging system, featuring a 120120 mm field of view, efficiently captures resonance information across the entire image in a single acquisition, significantly reducing beam time requirements compared to conventional energy-resolved neutron imaging systems. High-quality neutron radiographs with enhanced spatial resolution are achieved through the reconstruction of neutron events based on observations of individual photons emitted from the scintillator. The system demonstrates reduced background through neutron/gamma discrimination capabilities while maintaining sharpness across a large fields of view. In the measurements presented here, a spatial resolution of approximately 340 m was achieved using center-of-gravity photon cluster centroiding. We demonstrate the system’s capability for quantitatively determining isotopic distributions in various thin samples, as well as automatically reconstructing complex scenes with overlapping resonances from diverse samples. These results are obtained using standard data analysis tools, despite the relatively slow LiF-ZnS:Ag scintillator, which may not be optimal for absorption resonance detection. The capabilities demonstrated here offer a valuable, versatile, and cost-effective solution for high spatial and temporal resolution, large field-of-view energy-resolved neutron imaging, with potential applications across various scientific and industrial domains.

Keyword(s): Instrument and Method Development (1st) ; Instrument and Method Development (2nd)

Note: Funding: BMBF 05K19WO2, BMBF 05K22WO5, LANL’s Laboratory Directed Research & Development program 20230592ER, INL Laboratory Directed Research & Development (LDRD) Program 24A1081-222FP, Nuclear Science User Facilities (NSUF) Contract DE-AC07-05ID14517

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Contributing Institute(s):

1. NECTAR (NECTAR)

Experiment(s):

1. Measurement at external facility

Appears in the scientific report 2025

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