Development of Prompt Gamma-ray Analysis at J-PARC/ANNRI

Toh, Yosuke   ; Ebihara, Mitsuru*; Huang, M.; Kimura, Atsushi   ; Nakamura, Shoji  ; Harada, Hideo   

Prompt Gamma-ray Analysis (PGA) uses capture rays, which are characteristic of each particular nucleus emitted from a sample while it is being irradiated with neutrons. It has been used as a rapid, nondestructive method for performing both qualitative and quantitative multielemental analysis. Therefore, cosmochemical, environmental, archeological samples and samples from materials science and engineering are analyzed. Although, researchers have endeavored to improve the accuracy and the detection sensitivity in PGA with the coincidence and anti-coincidence methods, further improvements are possible. We developed a new analytical technique (TOF-PGA) that combines Prompt Gamma-ray Analysis (PGA) and time-of-flight elemental analysis (TOF) by using an intense pulsed neutron beam at the Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex (J-PARC). It allows us to obtain the results from both methods at the same time. Moreover, it can be used to quantify elemental concentrations in the sample, to which neither of these methods can be applied independently, if TOF-PGA is used. TOF-PGA showed high merits, although the capability may differ in terms of the target element and coexisting elements.