Detection of tritium using ultrafast laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

Abstract

Detection of nuclear materials and their radioisotopes with rapid, and standoff capability in addition to no sample preparation requirement is crucial to nuclear nonproliferation, safeguards, and security. In this work, we demonstrate the first application of ultrafast laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy to detect tritium (3H) during depth profiling of neutron-irradiated Zircaloy-4 samples.