FLASH Portal - Arktis Radiation Detectors Ltd

FLASH Portal
As Seen in the 2013 CTTSO Review Book
Artkis Radiation Detectors Ltd in Switzerland has been at the
forefront of developing and testing a sensitive, affordable, reliable,
and sustainable new detection system that complements and
can be easily integrated in existing detection portal systems for
fissionable materials – plutonium and uranium. This technology
responds to a pressing worldwide need to provide an alternative
to one of the major existing neutron detector systems. These
old systems depend on a manmade isotope of helium, He-3,
to detect much lower energy neutrons, also known as thermal
neutrons. A very limited supply and a dramatic increase in
demand have driven prices of He-3 to unsustainable levels.
FLASH, the Artkis system, is an international collaboration
dedicated to improving public security against nuclear threats.
FLASH replaces the scarce man-made helium isotope with
regular helium, like in party balloons. The regular helium detects
the neutrons emitted directly by the fission events of uranium
or plutonium nuclei by detecting brief flashes of light that are
generated as the fast neutrons transit the regular helium gas.
In independent testing in the United Kingdom and in Italy, the
field-ready prototype successfully demonstrated the necessary
sensitivity and high reliability. Since fast neutrons come directly
from the fissioning nuclei, the neutrons provide valuable
directional information pointing to the source. The low energy
neutrons start life as high energy fast neutrons but lose their
energy through scattering off intervening material that destroy any
information about the direction to the source from He-3 detectors.
FLASH testing also documented the effectiveness of using fission
gamma ray detections to trigger detection time windows for
the fast neutrons. This significantly reduced background and
improved signal-to-noise, providing greater sensitivity.
Artkis Radiation Detectors Ltd won the 2011 CTTSOsponsored Global Security Challenge. The CTTSO project
integrated significant technical manpower, material, and testing
support contributed as part of the international FLASH effort
by AWE, the UK Atomic Weapons Establishment, and
the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre in
Italy. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s
Domestic Nuclear Detection Office monitored
the progress of the development
and testing.