Described herein are
integrated systems for generating neutrons to perform a variety of tasks including: on-line analysis of bulk material and industrial
process control (as shown in FIG. 1), security interrogation (as shown in FIG. 2), soil and
environmental analysis, and
medical diagnostic treatment. These systems are based on novel gas-target
neutron generation which embodies the beneficial characteristics of replenishable fusible gas targets for very long lifetime, stability and
continuous operation, combined with the advantageous features common to conventional accelerator
neutron tubes including: on / off operation, hermetically sealed operation, and
safe storage and transport. Innovative
electron management techniques provide gas-target
neutron production efficiencies that are comparable or surpass existing sources. The high-pressure high-resistance gaseous
discharge is presented as a favorable gas-target
neutron generator embodiment, combining
ion source regions, accelerator regions, gas-target regions and
electron management components within a single simple cost-effective device that is adaptable to various geometric configurations that provide specific
neutron emission profiles for greater analysis capacity.