Development of a Small-Aperture Slit System for a High Collimator Ratio at the Thermal Neutron Radiography Facility in JRR-3

A small-aperture slit system has been developed and installed to enhance the collimator ratio ("L/D") of the thermal neutron radiography facility (TNRF) in JRR-3. The degree of unsharpness on neutron images is reduced by increasing the LID. The small-aperture slit system increased the LID by creating a small aperture size ("D"). Image sharpness improved when the aperture size was reduced to below 10 mm by 1 0 mm in the TNRF. On the other hand, there was almost no difference in unsharpness on images obtained above 10 mm by I 0 mm in aperture size. These results indicate that an aperture size of less than 10 mm by 10 mm should be used for high-spatial-resolution imaging at the TNRF. The beam area of the small-aperture slits was relatively small in comparison with that of a conventional large collimator, though gradually increasing with increasing aperture size. Even with an aperture size of 5 mm by 5 mm, the practical beam area for imaging examinations corresponded to around 25 mm by 20 mm, which is enough area to carry out high-spatial-resolution imaging.