Abstract
Coded aperture techniques have been applied to neutron radiography to address limitations in neutron flux and resolution of neutron detectors in a system labeled coded source imaging (CSI). By coding the neutron source, a magnified imaging system is designed with small spot size aperture holes (10 and 100m) for improved resolution beyond the detector limits and with many holes in the aperture (50% open) to account for flux losses due to the small pinhole size. An introduction to neutron radiography and coded aperture imaging is presented. A system design is developed for a CSI system with a development of equations for limitations on the system based on the coded image requirements and the neutron source characteristics of size and divergence. Simulation has been applied to the design using McStas to provide qualitative measures of performance with simulations of pinhole array objects followed by a quantitative measure through simulation of a tilted edge and calculation of the modulation transfer function (MTF) from the line spread function. MTF results for both 100um and 10um aperture hole diameters show resolutions matching the hole diameters.
