Photon-induced positron annihilation for standoff bomb detection

Abstract

We describe an approach to detect improvised explosive devices (IEDs) by using photon-induced positron annihilation radiation (PIPAR). This system relies on back-scattered γ photons from the target and surrounding objects following exposure to high energy X-rays from a betatron. In this work we simulate the use of Bremsstrahlung source operating at 3.5 MeV, with a scintillation detector, working in PIPAR mode, in order to reduce noise produced by undesired back-scattering from the surrounding objects. In this paper, we describe the basic imaging method and preliminary results on simulating a suitable betatron source. Two types of X-ray filters copper (Cu) and aluminium (Al), have been used in the simulation to observe their differences in the deposited energy spectrum in the iron target. It was found that the use of iron target in conjunction with 2 mm Al filter is capable of detecting annihilation γ photons. An initiated experiment with an interlaced source also shows promise. © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.