Application of energy-resolving neutron imaging to major-component analyses of materials using four-channel superconducting detector

Vu, TheDang*; 宍戸 寛明*; 相澤 一也; 奥 隆之; 及川 健一; 原田 正英; 小嶋 健児*; 宮嶋 茂之*; 曽山 和彦; 小山 富男*; et al.

IEEJ Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Engineering, 19(11), p.1888 - 1894, 2024/11

https://doi.org/10.1002/tee.24144

We proposed a novel superconducting detector called the current-biased kinetic inductance detector (CB-KID) for constructing a neutron transmission imager. We systematically studied the characteristics of the CB-KID to improve spatial resolution down to 10 m in transmission imaging. By analyzing neutron transmission spectra from 1 meV to 500 keV, we identified copper (Cu) and iron (Fe) as major components in commercial nuts and screws. Additionally, we successfully mapped the distribution of the SmSn compound using selective energy regions of pulsed neutrons and the CB-KID detector. It can reveal transmission spectra across a wide range of energies, from cold-neutron energies (meV) to higher neutron energies (up to 500 keV).