Comparison of fission signatures from β⁻ delayed γ-ray and neutron emissions

The delayed γ-ray and neutron fission signals utilized in active inspection techniques were measured simultaneously in order to directly compare their detection sensitivities. Fissionable and non-fissionable targets were irradiated by a 15-Hz pulsed bremsstrahlung beam operating at endpoint energies from 7 to 22 MeV. The fissionable mass detection limits for both these signals decreased approximately three orders of magnitude as the irradiation energy was increased with the delayed γ-ray limits 4.3–8.2 times smaller. The signals from the non-fissionable targets were consistent with the natural passive backgrounds for irradiation energies up to 16 MeV. At higher bremsstrahlung energies, there was a target independent active background in the delayed γ-ray signal that accounted for 35% of the gross yield. In addition, these higher irradiation energies resulted in products from ⁹Be(γ,p)⁸Li and ¹⁸O(γ,p)¹⁷N reactions interfering with the delayed γ-ray and neutron fission signals, respectively