TECHNOLOGY LICENSING OPPORTUNITY

High Resolution Fast Neutron Scintillator Screens

Layered polymer-scintillator screens for high resolution non-destructive examination of large, dense samples.

Opportunity: Idaho National Laboratory (INL), managed and operated by Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC (BEA), is offering the opportunity to enter into a license and/or collaborative research agreement to commercialize the high-resolution fast neutron scintillator screens.

Overview: Neutron radiography and tomography provide nondestructive images of a sample’s internal structure, complementary to those produced with ionizing radiation. However, thermal and cold neutrons are unable to penetrate large or dense samples. Fast neutrons can image these samples, but current fast neutron mixed plastic scintillator technologies have a relatively poor spatial resolution. This poor resolution of fast neutron radiography is caused by limitations of current mixed fast neutron screens, which inhibits the application space for this non-destructive technique. INL researchers have created a technology using layered polymer-scintillator screens for customers that need high resolution non-destructive examination of large, dense samples.

Description: Currently, plastic scintillators are available for fast neutron imaging. However, they do not deliver high resolution images. INL’s approach is to separate the converter and scintillator layers (whereas they are currently commonly mixed together in a plastic scintillator). The converter layer is nominally about 300 μm thick, which is the range of a recoil proton. This optimizes the converter thickness to maximize scintillator material interaction and light output, while minimizing neutron scatter, which degrades image resolution. In addition, using a thin scintillator layer prevents light diffusion, which should also improve resolution when compared to relatively thicker mixed polymer scintillator.

Benefits:

• Substantially improves the ability of fast neutron images to visualize features that are small and/or low in contrast.
• This expands the application space and makes fast neutron imaging a more viable examination tool.
• Provides significantly better spatial resolution than existing plastic scintillator options.
• The layered approach maximizes the number of recoil protons reaching the scintillator material film, while minimizing noise from scattered neutrons.
• Enables imaging of larger, denser samples that cannot be imaged with thermal neutrons.

Applications:

• Examination of:
  • Nuclear fuels
  • Commercial turbines
  • Munitions
  • 3D printed and other advanced-manufactured parts

Development Status: TRL 7. A full-scale, prototypical system has been demonstrated in a relevant environment.

IP Status:

INL is seeking to license the above intellectual property to a company with a demonstrated ability to bring such inventions to the market. Exclusive rights in defined fields of use may be available.

Please visit Technology Deployment’s website at https://inl.gov/inl-initiatives/technology-deployment for more information on working with INL and the industrial partnering and technology transfer process.

Companies interested in learning more about this licensing opportunity should contact Kala Majeti at td@inl.gov.