Year
1997
Abstract
This paper will report on the results of over three years of collaborative efforts between Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and EG&G ORTEC to develop an ambient temperature radiometric instrument. Three tools were developed as a result of this research: The CZT Probe - a cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) -based gamma- and x-ray detector probe, the MicroNOMAD - a low power, portable multichannel analyzer (MCA), and CZTU - spectral analysis software that provides uranium enrichment analysis. The combination of these three tools with an optional sodium iodide (NaI) detector provides the ability to search for and then analyze uranium as well as other radionuclides in the field. Several national and international organizations including the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the European Communities Safeguards Directorate (EURATOM), U.S. Customs, and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), have expressed interest and are currently evaluating these systems. We will report on improvements in peak efficiency presently being made.