Large format imaging system

Bechtel Nevada (BN), in collaboration with Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), has designed a radiographic imaging system that takes advantage of large format electron optical elements to produce a highly sensitive system for large diameter radiographic fluxes. Using specially designed fast lenses, the system is able to observe scintillator screens as large as 300 mm in diameter. A gated microchannel plate intensifier allows the system to be synchronized to pulsed gamma, proton and neutron sources of radiation to help reduce background noise levels. The entire system is deployed in a transportable housing with sealed heat exchanger and electrical patch panel that is designed to be lighttight so that the electron optics can be operated at extremely high gain. External controls allow manipulation of system gain, gate width and focus. The resolution is about 1 to 2 line pairs per millimeter (1p/mm) at the radiation-to-light converter, and the f-number of the optical system is f/1. The image is digitized from a fiber-optically coupled 1024 X 1024 cooled charge-coupled device (CCD) array. The system will have interchangeable components so that system performance can be optimized to meet specific recording requirements. The major tradeoff is between field of view and resolution.