Uranium measurements in the field using high-resolution cadmium zinc telluride detectors

• Published in: Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment, 2024-07, Vol.1064, p.169330, Article 169330
• Main Authors: Zalavadia, Mital, McDonald, Benjamin, Dreyer, Jonathan, Enghauser, Michael, Mozin, Vladimir, Thoreson, Greg, Vo, Duc, Venkataraman, Ramkumar
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: gamma spectrometry; High-resolution CZT; Isotopic analysis; Uranium enrichment
• ISSN: 0168-9002
• DOI: 10.1016/j.nima.2024.169330

A new generation of cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) detectors has become available and is being evaluated by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for safeguards verifications in the field. The new CZT detector, model M400, is a room temperature spectrometer manufactured by H3D, Inc. The M400 demonstrates superior energy resolution, effective isotope identification capabilities, and convenient usability features when tested in a controlled laboratory environment. These characteristics define the M400 as a potential platform for IAEA field detection applications, which could become suitable for nuclear material characterization (e.g., enrichment verification) and nuclear safeguards missions. The capabilities of gamma spectrometry codes including Fixed energy, Response function Analysis with Multiple efficiencies (FRAM) from Los Alamos National Laboratory, CZT for Uranium (CZTU) from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and Gamma Detector Response and Analysis Software (GADRAS) from Sandia National Laboratories were adapted for M400 spectra, and the performance of the codes has been validated. This was reported in a prior work. To further validate the performance of the high-energy resolution CZT detector and the isotopic analysis codes, a field measurement campaign consisting of uranium hexafluoride (UF6) cylinder measurements was conducted at a fuel fabrication facility. A total of 34 Type 30B cylinders containing UF6 were measured using three different M400 CZT detectors. Each detector was outfitted with a custom rectangular collimator and shield made out T-Flex®, a tungsten-impregnated polymer. Measurements were performed at three different locations of the cylinder, ensuring that the measurement geometry satisfied the infinite thickness criterion. The spectra from the M400 CZT were analyzed using the code General Enrichment Meter (GEM). For analyzing the gamma-ray spectra from UF6 cylinder, the GEM code is the appropriate tool since it relies only on the gamma-ray emissions from 235U and not from other isotopes. Results from the spectral analysis were compared with the known abundance of 235U in the cylinders, as well as with the International Target Values 2020 (ITV2020). The suitability of the different underlying techniques used by the various codes for UF6 analysis is discussed. The challenges of measuring UF6 contained in cylinders and mitigation strategies are highlighted.