X-ray or gamma ray systems or devices – Specific application – Diffraction – reflection – or scattering analysis
Patent
1989-10-19
1991-01-22
Howell, Janice A.
X-ray or gamma ray systems or devices
Specific application
Diffraction, reflection, or scattering analysis
378 49, 378 70, 378 82, 378 86, G21K 106, G01N 23223, G01N 2320, G01T 136
Patent
active
049875825
ABSTRACT:
A system for detecting the presence of known materials in a body or container. The system incorporates a gamma or X-ray source for irradiating the body with gamma rays to produce X-ray fluorescence of materials contained therein. A directionally discriminate X-ray detector is positioned to intercept X-rays emitted from the body and is adapted to pass only those X-rays having a predetermined wavelength and incident from a specific direction that are characteristic of a material of interest contained in the body. The detector includes a dislocation free single crystal having substantially parallel input and output surfaces. A second crystal aligned parallel to the first crystal may be disposed at a position offset from the first crystal to receive the X-rays transmitted by the first crystal in order to discriminate between materials fluorescing within the body. In a specific embodiment of the invention, the first detector comprises an elongated crystal which pass X-rays in accordance with the Borrmann effect. A plurality of the crystals are arranged in a linear array and the container is either scanned with the array or the container passed linearly past the array. The detected X-rays are measured in intensity and the data is processed by suitable data processor to generate a video image indicative of the presence and shape of the specific materials for which the system is adapted. In yet another specific embodiment of the invention, a plurality of such arrays can be arranged with the input surfaces of the crystals disposed at different Bragg angles to simultaneously detect the presence of a selected group of materials.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2816234 (1957-12-01), Ellis
patent: 3402292 (1968-09-01), Baecklund
patent: 3806726 (1974-04-01), Ishijima
Picker X-ray Corporation; "X-Ray Spectrometry"; 10/20/65.
Chang David B.
Moise Norton L.
Pearson Keith V.
Vali Victor
Webster Jackie R.
Denson-Low Wanda
Howell Janice A.
Hughes Aircraft Company
Sales Michael W.
Wong Don
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