Described herein are integrated systems for generating neutrons to perform
a variety of tasks including: on-line analysis of bulk material and industrial
process control (as shown in FIG. 1), security interrogation (as shown in
FIG. 2), soil and environmental analysis, and medical diagnostic treatment.
These systems are based on novel gas-target neutron generation which embodies the
beneficial characteristics of replenishable fusible gas targets for very long lifetime,
stability and continuous operation, combined with the advantageous features common
to conventional accelerator neutron tubes including: on/off operation, hermetically
sealed operation, and safe storage and transport. Innovative electron management
techniques provide gas-target neutron production efficiencies that are comparable
or surpass existing sources. The high-pressure high-resistance gaseous discharge
is presented as a favorable gas-target neutron generator embodiment, combining
ion source regions, accelerator regions, gas-target regions and electron management
components within a single simple cost-effective device that is adaptable to various
geometric configurations that provide specific neutron emission profiles for greater
analysis capacity.
