High Repetition Rate, LINAC-based Nuclear Resonance Fluorescence FY 2009 Final Report

Nuclear Resonance Fluorescence (NRF), which is possible for nuclei with atomic numbers greater than helium (Z=2), occurs when a nuclear level is excited by resonant absorption of a photon and subsequently decays by reemission of a photon. The excited nuclear states can become readily populated, provided the incident photon’s energy is within the Doppler-broadened width of the energy level being excited. Utilizing continuous energy photon spectra, as is characteristic of a bremsstrahlung photon beam, as the inspection source, ensures that at least some fraction of the impinging beam will contribute to the population of the excited energy levels in the material of interest. Upon de-excitation, either to the ground state or to a lower-energy excited state, the emitted fluorescence photon’s energy will correspond to the energy difference between the excited state and the state to which it decays. As each isotope inherently contains unique nuclear energy levels, the NRF states for each isotope are also unique. By exploiting this phenomenon, NRF photon detection provides a well-defined signature for identifying the presence of individual nuclear species. This report summarizes the second year (Fiscal Year [FY] 2009) of a collaborative research effort between Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho State University’s Idaho Accelerator Center, and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. This effort focused on continuing to assess and optimize NRF-based detection techniques utilizing a slightly modified, commercially available, pulsed medical electron accelerator