Abstract
Coded-aperture gamma-ray imaging is a mature technology that is capable of providing accurate and quantitative images of nuclear materials. Although it is potentially of high value to the safeguards and arms-control communities, it has yet to be fully embraced by those communities. One reason for this is the limited choice, high-cost, and low efficiency of commercial instruments; while instruments made by research organizations are frequently large and / or unsuitable for field work. In this paper we present the results of a project that mates the coded-aperture imaging approach with the latest in commercially-available, position-sensitive, High Purity Germanium (HPGe) detec-tors. The instrument replaces a laboratory prototype that, was unsuitable for other than demonstra-tions. The original instrument, and the cart on which it is mounted to provide mobility and pointing capabilities, has a footprint of ~ 2/3 m x 2 m, weighs ~ 100 Kg, and requires cryogen refills every few days. In contrast, the new instrument is tripod mounted, weighs of order 25 Kg, operates with a laptop computer, and is mechanically cooled. The instrument is being used in a program that is ex-ploring the use of combined radiation and laser scanner imaging. The former provides information on the presence, location, and type of nuclear materials while the latter provides design verification information. To align the gamma-ray images with the laser scanner data, the Ge imager is fitted and aligned to a visible-light stereo imaging unit. This unit generates a locus of 3D points that can be matched to the precise laser scanner data. With this approach, the two instruments can be used completely independently at a facility, and yet the data can be accurately overlaid based on the very structures that are being measured.
