(Los Angeles, CA 07MAY08) RadiaBeam has recently been notified that is has won an Small Business Innovation in Research (SBIR) contract from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA). The project will produce the preliminary design of a novel, high-energy gamma ray source, which RadiaBeam has termed the Inverse-Compton Gamma Source (IGS), for the long-range detection of nuclear materials.
Current technologies for detecting Special Nuclear Materials (SNM) rely on passive detection of gamma rays and neutrons. Passive detection technologies, while well developed, are limited to short range and can be defeated by heavy shielding or the presence of masking isotopes. Active interrogation of SNM with gammas and/or neutrons can produce fission events within the material, resulting in a unique signature of decay products. Past experiments with gamma-ray active interrogation have so far been performed mostly using bremsstrahlung, but this produces a very broad energy spectrum (much of it unusable for photofission) and a large, diffuse beam. In order to apply gamma-interrogation techniques more effectively at long range, a narrow-band, directional gamma-ray source is required.
In the awarded SBIR project, RadiaBeam will design a novel gamma-ray source based on Inverse Compton Scattering (ICS). In the ICS process, a beam of high-energy electrons collides with a beam of photons from a laser. The photons are backscattered and gain energy, producing a very bright, nearly monochromatic pulse of X-rays of gamma rays with very small source size and divergence.
Salime Boucher, the President of RadiaBeam and the Principle Investigator of the project, stated: "we are very excited to be working on this project with huge potential for securing the nation and the world. In addition, the core technology developed will have many dual-use applications, including medical imaging and basic research."
Additional information on RadiaBeam is available at the company web site: http://www.radiabeam.com/
About RadiaBeam Technologies, LLC
RadiaBeam Technologies manufactures products, performs directed research, and provides custom design and engineering services in the beam and accelerator research sector.
Our products come from technology transfer, licensing and original designs. We focus on novel acceleration methods, diagnostics, subsystems and EM radiation production. The company has three main regimes of specialization: high brightness beams, femtosecond systems, and novel industrial / medical accelerators.
About the SBIR Program
The SBIR program is a highly competitive grant system that encourages small business to explore their technological potential. SBIR funds the critical startup and development stages and it encourages the commercialization of the technology, product, or service, which, in turn, stimulates the U.S. economy. Since its enactment in 1982, as part of the Small Business Innovation Development Act, SBIR has helped thousands of small businesses to compete for federal research and development awards.
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