Bulk elemental analysis using γ rays from inelastic scattering of neutrons produced by the 13C(α,n) 16O reaction

Abstract

The 2H(d, n) 3He, 7Li(p, n) 7Be, 9Be(α, n) 12C and 13C(α, n) 16O reactions are compared for suitability as a neutron source for bulk multielement analysis by inelastic neutron scattering. The 13 C( α, n) 16 O reaction at E α = 3.4 MeV is found to be the most su ble, with minimum detection limits at least a factor of 2 better than the other reactions. Minimum mass detection limits for twenty-nine elements are presented. An example of the application of the technique to non-destructive analysis of a glass archaeological specimen is given.