Development Of Delayed Gamma-ray Spectroscopy For Nuclear Safeguards (2): Designing A Compact DGS Instrument

The Japan Atomic Energy Agency is developing the Delayed Gamma-ray Spectroscopy (DGS) non-destructive assay technique to quantify the fissile-nuclide content in small samples of mixed nuclear materials. One of our primary goals is to develop a compact and efficient DGS instrument to be easily installable into analytical laboratories. The instrument should include an external neutron source and a gamma-ray detection system along with other supporting systems like sample transfer and neutron monitoring. One of the challenges is to design a compact and efficient moderator for commercial neutron sources (e.g. neutron generators or sealed radioactive sources) that emit neutrons with high energy. However, to be able to enhance the gamma-ray signal from fissile materials, thermal neutrons are best due to their higher fission cross-sections. The choice of viable neutron source (neutron spectrum and strength) depends on several considerations (e.g. sample type and interrogation pattern), but also affect the gamma-ray measurement and the consequence analysis. In this work, we will first describe the evaluation results of our Delayed Gamma-ray Californium Test instrumentation from the first experiment carried out in PERLA in collaboration with the European Commission, Joint Research Centre. In association, we will describe how it provided guidance for our demonstration irradiator. Further, we will present our final moderator design concept for a deuterium-deuterium (D-D) neutron generator and present the latest results of data-model comparisons, including those with our PUNITA results.