Bremsstrahlung-induced highly penetrating probes for nondestructive assay and defect analysis

Nondestructive assay and defect analysis probes based on bremsstrahlung-induced processes have been developed to identify elements and probe defects in large volume samples. Bremsstrahlung beams from (electron accelerators) with end-point energies both above and below neutron emission threshold have been used. Below neutron emission threshold these beams (from 6MeV small pulsed linacs), which exhibit high penetration, create positrons via pair production inside the material and produce X-ray fluorescence (XRF) radiation. Chemical assays of heavy elements in thick samples up to 10 g/cm² thick are provided by energy dispersive XRF measurements. The pair-produced positrons annihilate within the material, thereby emitting 511 keV gamma radiation. Doppler broadening spectroscopy of the 511 keV radiation can be performed to characterize the material and measure defects in samples of any desired thickness. This technique has successfully measured induced strain due to tensile stress in steel samples of 0.64 cm thick. Bremsstrahlung beams above neutron emission threshold, from a 20 MeV pulsed electron linac, have also been used to produce residual nuclei in excited states via photonuclear reactions allowing the detection of heavy elements via their characteristic γ-rays. This can be developed into a technique to trace some heavy metals in large rocks and soils for environmental applications.