APPLIED SPECTRA INC — Department of Energy SBIR Phase II: 02c

Description

The United States and the global community continue to face a threat from terrorists and rogue nations who conspire to obtain or produce nuclear materials. A key aspect of intelligence to safeguard our world and deter the proliferation of nuclear weapons is isotopic analysis. Thousands of micronsized particles on swipes and heterogeneous nuclear materials must be analyzed which takes too much time using conventional analytical instruments. Advanced technologies for rapid isotopic analysis are needed. Applied Spectra is developing an innovative Triple Tandem instrument that combines three laserbased analytical technologies for rapid isotopic analysis of complex nuclear materials. Develop and implement data fusion and machine learning software for isotopic analysis within a technicianready COTS Commercial Off The Shelf instrument platform. The TripleTandem concept was successfully demonstrated for rapid nuclear material measurements by utilizing data from simultaneous optical and mass spectra with data fusion algorithms. Two alphaprototype instruments were fabricated for testing in our facility and at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory PNNL. A betaprototype Triple Tandem was installed at the Idaho National Laboratory INL. Advances have been on the development of software for system control, establishing elemental and molecular spectral databases, analysis of particles and bulk materials, and data analytics. The Phase IIC effort will allow Applied Spectra to complete the R&D associated with transitioning the prototype to technicianready COTS instrument. We will continue our collaboration with PNNL for developing analysis protocols for particle samples and include a new collaboration with INL for spatially analyzing heterogeneous bulk nuclear material. With matching funds, we will expand the Triple Tandem into industrial energy applications. The Triple Tandem offers a compelling value proposition; an instrument with superior capabilities to rapidly measure isotopics from nuclear materials. Three to five separate analytical instruments would be needed to achieve the performance from the Triple Tandem, requiring substantially more time, cost and sample to achieve similar results. Rapid measurements of nuclear materials address safeguards, nonproliferation and nuclear forensics, with dualuse commercial applications including biological imaging, geochemical age dating, food safety, mining, battery and solar cell development, and advanced manufacturing.