NRTA

Neutron Resonance Transmission Analysis (NRTA) is a spectroscopic technique which uses the resonant attenuation of epithermal neutrons to infer the isotopic composition of an object. NRTA is particularly well suited for applications requiring non-destructive analysis of objects containing mid- and high-Z elements. To date, NRTA has required large, expensive accelerator facilities to achieve precise neutron beams and has not been suitable for on-site applications. In this paper, we provide the first experimental demonstration that NRTA can be performed using a compact, low-cost deuterium-tritium (DT) neutron generator to analyze neutron resonances in the 1-50 eV range. The neutron transmission spectra for five single-element targets – silver, cadmium, tungsten, indium, and depleted uranium – each show uniquely identifiable resonant attenuation dips in measurement times on the order of tens of minutes. Closely spaced resonances of ∼1 cm thick, multi-element targets can be easily differentiated with 1 eV resolution up to neutron energies of 10 eV and 5 eV resolution up to neutron energies of 30 eV. These results demonstrate the viability of compact NRTA measurements for isotopic identification and have the potential to significantly broaden the technique’s applicability across materials science, engineering, and nuclear security.