Method and apparatus for employing resonance-produced gamma rays to detect the presence of both nitrogen and oxygen in objects that may contain explosives

{
  "publication_number": "US5251240A",
  "country": "US",
  "kind": "A",
  "title": "Method and apparatus for employing resonance-produced gamma rays to detect the presence of both nitrogen and oxygen in objects that may contain explosives",
  "abstract": "Generating nuclear resonance-produced gamma rays of 14 N, 16 O (and C1) for scanning objects such as luggage that may contain explosives of nitrogen-oxygen (-chorine) constituents, and detecting such by Resonance Absorption Analysis (RAA) techniques, and with increased yield of gamma ray generation with novel resonance targets, thin layer and gaseous, particularly of the resonance gamma rays of 14 N.",
  "claims": [
    "1. A method of employing resonance-produced gamma rays to detect the presence of both nitrogen and oxygen content in objects that may contain explosives, that comprises, directing resonance-produced gamma rays of each of 14 N and 16 O upon such objects and detecting change sin the respective intensities of such rays as they pass through the object, indicative of resonance absorption by both nitrogen and oxygen constituents in the object, the 14 N resonance-produced gamma rays being of 9.172 MeV and the 16 O resonance-produced gamma rays being of 6.92 and/or 7.12 MeV.",
    "2. A method as claimed in claim 1 and in which the respective 14 N resonance-produced and 16 O resonance-produced gamma rays are generated by directing appropriate energy protons upon a 13 C-containing target medium and upon a 19 Fl-containing target medium.",
    "3. A method as claimed in claim 2 and in which said proton energy is of the order of 1.75 MeV.",
    "4. A method as claimed in claim 2 and in which the yield of said 14 N resonance-produced 9.172 MeV gamma rays is increased by successively increasing the energy of the protons at corresponding successive portions of the said 13 C-containing target medium and at the same rate that the protons lose energy by collisions with such successive portions of the target medium, which collisions generate such resonance-produced gamma rays.",
    "5. A method as claimed in claim 4 and in which said yield increasing is effected by applying successive voltage increments between such successive portions of the 13 C-containing target medium.",
    "6. A method as claimed in claim 5 and in which the successive voltage increments are of the order of 500 volts.",
    "7. A method as claimed in claim 2 and in which the object is positioned to be intercepted by the 14 N resonance-produced 9.172 MeV gamma rays at an angle of about 80.5° to the direction of the protons and the detecting of the intensity of these rays is effected after passage through said object.",
    "8. A method as claimed in claim 7 and in which the object further intercepts those 6.92 and 7.12 MeV 16 O resonance produced gamma rays emanating toward the object, and the intensity of the same are detected by resonance absorption after passing through the object.",
    "9. A method as claimed in claim 2 and in which the said target media comprise a mixture or compound in a gaseous medium form containing 13 C and 19 Fl constituents.",
    "10. A method of employing resonance-produced gamma rays to detect the concurrent presence of both nitrogen and oxygen content in objects, that comprises, generating resonance-produced 9.172 MeV gamma rays of 14 N and 6.92 and/or 7.12 MeV gamma rays of 16 O; directing the rays upon such objects; and detecting changes in the respective intensities of such rays as they pass through said objects, indicative of resonance absorption by both nitrogen and oxygen constituents in the object.",
    "11. A method as claimed in claim 10 and in which the respective detected changes indicate the respective nitrogen and oxygen densities in the object, and such nitrogen and oxygen densities are correlated to identify the object.",
    "12. A method as claimed in claim 10 and in which the respective 9.172 MeV and 6.92, 7.12 MeV gamma ray generation is effected by directing appropriate energy protons upon a 13 C-containing target medium and upon a 19 Fl-containing target medium, respectively.",
    "13. A method as claimed in claim 12 and in which said proton energy is of the order of 1.75 MeV.",
    "14. A method as claimed in claim 12 and in which the yield of said 14 N resonance-produced 9.172 MeV gamma rays is increased by successively increasing the energy of the protons at corresponding successive portions of the said 13 C-containing target medium and at the same rate that the protons lose energy by collisions with such successive portions of the target medium, which collisions generate such resonance-produced gamma rays.",
    "15. Apparatus for employing resonance-produced gamma rays to detect the presence of nitrogen and oxygen in objects that may contain explosives, having, in combination, means for generating resonance-produced 9.172 MeV gamma rays of 14 n and 6.92 and/or 7.12 Mev gamma rays of 16 O; means for directing such resonance-produced gamma rays upon such objects; and means for detecting changes in the respective intensities of such rays as they pass through said objects resulting from resonance absorption by both nitrogen and oxygen constituents in the object indicative of the presence of explosives therein.",
    "16. Apparatus as claimed in claim 15 and in which the generating means comprises means for producing a proton beam and directing the same upon respective 13 C-containing and 19 Fl-containing target media to generate the respective 14 N and 16 O resonance-produced gamma rays.",
    "17. Apparatus as claimed in claim 16 and in which means is provided for increasing the yield of said 14 N resonance-produced gamma rays by means for successively increasing the energy of the protons of the beam at corresponding successive portions of the said 13 C-containing target medium and at the same rate that the protons lose energy by collisions with such successive portions of the target medium, which collisions generate such resonance-produced gamma rays.",
    "18. Apparatus as claimed in claim 17 and in which such yield increasing means comprises means for applying successive voltage increments between such successive portions of the 13 C-containing target medium.",
    "19. Apparatus as claimed in claim 18 and in which the said voltage increments are of the order of about 150-800 volts.",
    "20. Apparatus as claimed in claim 15 and in which mean sis provided for moving the objects possibly containing explosives to intercept the resonance-produced gamma rays."
  ],
  "description_excerpt": "The Government has rights in this invention pursuant to grant Number DTRS-57-88C-00078 awarded by the Department of Transportation.\n\nThe present invention relates generically to methods of and apparatus for generating nuclear resonant reactions caused by charged particle beams, such as the generation of 9.172 MeV gamma rays resonantly absorbed by nitrogen (14 N) by, for example, an appropriate energy proton beam impinging upon a 13 C-containing target; the generation of 6.92 or 7.12 MeV gamma rays resonantly absorbed by oxygen (16 O) by proton beam impingement upon a 19 Fl-containing target; and/or similarly generated resonantly absorbed gamma rays in chlorine and other elements. More particularly, the invention is specifically directed to the correlation of the nitrogen density of a material with the oxygen density through both (simultaneous or sequential) nitrogen and oxygen Resonance Absorption Analysis (RAA), uniquely to distinguish explosives and the like; and further to novel techniques for oxygen RAA and resonant absorption detection, and for the enhancing, amplifying or increasing of the gamma ray yield obtainable from such nuclear resonant reactions in nitrogen, as for the purpose of detecting explosives and for other purposes with similar or related objectives.\n\nthe exemplary case of 14 N, it has been\n\nTurning first to proposed to utilize the phenomenon of the sharp nuclear resonance provided by excitation energy of 9.172 MeV in 14 N as a unique and clear signature for detecting the presence of nitrogen as in explosives that may, for example, be hidden in luggage.",
  "cpc": [
    "G01V 5/22",
    "H05H 6/00"
  ],
  "ipc": [
    "G01N 23/14",
    "G01N 9/24",
    "G01V 5/00",
    "H05H 6/00"
  ],
  "assignees": [
    "Massachusetts Institute of Technology"
  ],
  "inventors": [
    "Lee Grodzins"
  ],
  "filing_date": "1990-05-04",
  "publication_date": "1993-10-05",
  "grant_date": "1993-10-05",
  "priority_date": "1990-05-04",
  "application_number": "US-51878590-A",
  "family_id": "24065494",
  "cited_by_count": 43,
  "citations": [
    "US3171961A",
    "US3997787A",
    "US4882121A",
    "US4941162A",
    "US5040200A"
  ]
}