Charged particle scanners
AssigneeDecision Sciences International Corporation
InventorsRobert D. Penny, Michael James Sossong, Matthew Steiger, Young K. Lee
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Abstract
A volume interrogation system can use an accelerated beam of charged particles to interrogate objects using charged-particle attenuation and scattering tomography to screen items such as portable electronic devices, packages, baggage, industrial products, or food products for the presence of materials of interest inside. The exemplary systems and methods in this patent document can be employed in checkpoint applications to scan items. Such checkpoint applications can include border crossings, mass transit terminals (subways, buses, railways, ferries, etc.), and government and private-sector facilities.
Claims18
A method of operating a scanner for interrogating contents of a volume, the method comprising:
- generating a collimated beam of charged particles;
- creating a rastered fan beam by steering the generated beam of charged particles through a range of angles;
- converting the rastered fan beam into a rastered parallel beam;
- steering the rastered parallel beam through a range of illumination angles to scan an object;
- detecting positions and directions of the charged particles that exit the object;
- and
- generating an estimate of a spatial map of atomic number and density of the object based on at least the positions and the directions of the charged particles that exit the object.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.