Radiation Detectors and Instrumentation

Abstract

Direct measurements of radiation signatures can be utilized as a key functional component to verify a country’s commitments in a transparency agreement. Special nuclear material comprises isotopes of uranium and plutonium, where each has unique signatures that differentiate it from the other isotopes when measured with radiation detection equipment. Depending on the type of confirmatory information desired, a wide range of radiation detection methods are available including several nondestructive methods of gamma spectroscopy, neutron and gamma counting, multiplicity counting, and imaging, and some destructive methods of alpha spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. Each method provides information indicative of material composition, isotopic composition, or processing method where radiation detection equipment is often utilized in the laboratory and field to perform these analyses. This chapter aims to provide a brief introduction to the radiation signatures of interest for radiation detection, an overview of how these signatures are utilized for standard radiation detection-based verification techniques utilized in non-proliferation and arms control monitoring and verification, as well as a description of some of the challenges associated with implementation of these techniques into international agreements.