APPLIED SPECTRA INC — Department of Energy SBIR Phase I: 06b

Description

Nuclear forensics requires complete physical and chemical analysis of material to ascertain device identification and attribution. Instrumentation is required to microscopically image a material for physical and morphological properties with separate instrumentation required for elemental and isotopic analyses. A need exists to correlate the physical imaging with the analysis to fully characterize regions of interest within a material sample (for example, uranium particles in a mix of environmental dust). Identifying and correlating features of interest with high accuracy (e.g., nanometers to micrometers) among separate instrumentation is a goal for new instrumentation development. Through collaboration, Applied Spectra Inc, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the Idaho National Laboratory will demonstrate registration and correlation of 2D/3D interferometric imaging with elemental/isotopic analysis of nuclear material. We will establish nanometer to micrometer scale registration in Phase I and integrate imaging with analysis into a machine vision platform in Phase II, to provide a 21st century technology/instrument for nuclear forensics. Merging of these two technologies supports the DOE requirement for rapid characterization of regions of interest within a material sample using complementary methods. Our R&D effort will demonstrate the ability to couple 2D/3D interferometric imaging with analysis from separate instruments into a combined measurement by using stage registration between confocal and white-light interferometry with Applied Spectra’s unique Triple Tandem analytical instrument. Phase I will investigate appropriate software algorithms for registering these coordinates between disparate instruments. Sophistication of the approach, spatial features in complex samples including nuclear fuels and particles will be established. Registration of interferometric imaging microscopywith Applied Spectra’s Tandem instrument will be a powerful unprecedented capability for government and industry applications. This capability will directly benefit DOE and their stakeholders to provide complete characterization of nuclear material, as well as address other nuclear security applications, Li- ion battery development, biological tissue analysis, and industrial advanced manufacturing applications.