A pulsed fast-thermal neutron system for the detection of hidden explosives

Abstract It has been shown that for all known explosives a strong correlation exists between their O and N concentrations. C is the third element that is also common to all explosives. A system, therefore, that would be able to identify and quantify all three elements, would provide more reliable information about the interrogated material. A pulsed fast-thermal neutron system is used for the simultaneous identification of C, N, and O. Data from explosive simulants indicate the feasibility of the method. The response of various types of γ-ray detectors to the large neutron flux is discussed.