There is presented an apparatus for identifying a sample. Such an apparatus may be used to detect unwanted items as part of a security screening system. The apparatus includes a platform for receiving the sample, at least one electromagnetic radiation emitter, a plurality of detectors and a calculator. The electromagnetic radiation emitter is adapted to provide a plurality of conical shells of radiation. Each conical shell has a characteristic propagation axis associated with it. The detectors are arranged to detect radiation diffracted by the sample upon incidence of one or more conical shells of radiation. Each detector is located on the characteristic propagation axis associated with a corresponding conical shell. The calculator is adapted to calculate a parameter of the sample based on the detected diffracted radiation. The parameter includes a lattice spacing of the sample.

A chopper wheel assembly includes a collimator configured to narrow an x-ray beam, a chopper wheel has a planar surface configured to face in a direction of the collimator and a housing configured to receive the chopper wheel. The chopper wheel includes a central axis, a plurality of slits in the planar surface, a first projection extending from the planar surface in a direction of the collimator and a second projection extending from the planar surface in the direction of the collimator. The slits extend in radially-outward direction relative to the central axis. The first projection is located radially outward of the plurality of slits and the second projection is located radially inward of the plurality of slits. Each projection is provided for 360 degrees about the central axis. The housing includes an interior wall including a first groove configured to receive the first projection and a second groove configured to receive the second projection with the chopper wheel received within the housing.

The present disclosure provides a substance identification device and a substance identification method. The substance identification device comprises: a classifier establishing unit configured to establish a classifier based on scattering density values reconstructed for a plurality of known sample materials, wherein the classifier comprises a plurality of feature regions corresponding to a plurality of characteristic parameters for the plurality of known sample materials, respectively; and an identification unit for a material to be tested, configured to match the characteristic parameter of the material to be tested with the classifier, and to identify a type of the material to be tested by obtaining a feature region corresponding to the characteristic parameter of the material to be tested.

An x-ray scanning system, and corresponding method, includes an x-ray source that produces incident x-ray radiation having end-point x-ray energy, which, in various embodiments, can be greater than about 200 keV, between about 200 keV and about 500 keV, or greater than about 500 keV. The system also includes a disk chopper wheel that can be irradiated by and attenuate the incident x-ray radiation. The disk chopper wheel further defines one or more slits configured to pass the incident x-ray radiation through the disk chopper wheel for scanning a target. In some embodiments, the high end-point x-ray energies with disk chopper wheels are facilitated by forming the incident x-ray radiation as a collimated fan beam and/or orienting the chopper wheel with a wheel plane substantially non-perpendicular to a fan beam plane, increasing effective thickness of a disk chopper wheel to attenuate incident x-rays of higher energies.

The present specification describes a compact, hand-held probe or device that uses the principle of X-ray backscatter to provide immediate feedback to an operator about the presence of scattering and absorbing materials, items or objects behind concealing barriers irradiated by ionizing radiation, such as X-rays. Feedback is provided in the form of a changing audible tone whereby the pitch or frequency of the tone varies depending on the type of scattering material, item or object. Additionally or alternatively, the operator obtains a visual scan image on a screen by scanning the beam around a suspect area or anomaly.

An x-ray based cased wellbore simultaneous tubing and casing measurement tool is disclosed including at least an x-ray source; a radiation shield to define the output from of the produced x-rays; a two-dimensional per-pixel collimated imaging detector array; a secondary two-dimensional per-pixel collimated imaging detector array; a plurality of parallel hole collimators formatted such in one direction so as to form a pinhole in another direction; sonde-dependent electronics; and a plurality of tool logic electronics and PSUs. A method of using an x-ray based cased wellbore simultaneous tubing and casing measurement tool is also disclosed, the method including at least producing x-rays in a shaped output; measuring the intensity of backscatter x-rays returning from materials surrounding the wellbore; determining the inner and outer diameters of tubing and casing from the backscatter x-rays; and converting image data from said detectors into consolidated images of the tubing and casing.

The present disclosure provides an X-ray backscattering safety inspection system, comprising: one or more backscattering inspection subsystem configured to inspect an object to be inspected by emitting X-ray beams towards the object to be inspected and inspecting scattering signals; and a control subsystem configured to adjust a distance between the backscattering inspection subsystem and locations on a side of the object to be inspected where are irradiated by the X-ray beams in real time according to a size of the object to be inspected such that the scattering signals inspected are optimized. The system may be adapted to objects to be inspected with different sizes or shapes while enhancing backscattering signals for imaging.

The present disclosure provides a mobile back scattering imaging security inspection apparatus, comprising: a back scattering scanner (2), a detector (3), a controller (4), and a movable stage (1) configured to carry the back scattering scanner, the detector and the controller and being movable with respect to the object to be inspected; wherein the back scattering scanner is a distributed X-ray source comprising a plurality of target points (201), each of which is able to emit the ray beam individually, and wherein the back scattering scanner, the detector and the controller perform an imaging security inspection operation on the object to be inspected during moving along with the movable stage with respect to the object.

An x-ray scanning system includes an x-ray source that produces a collimated fan beam of incident x-ray radiation. The system also includes a chopper wheel that can be irradiated by the collimated fan beam. The chopper wheel is oriented with a wheel plane containing the chopper wheel substantially non-perpendicular relative to a beam plane containing the collimated fan beam. In various embodiments, a disk chopper wheel's effective thickness is increased, allowing x-ray scanning with end point energies of hundreds of keV using relatively thinner, lighter, and less costly chopper wheel disks. Backscatter detectors can be mounted to an exterior surface of a vehicle housing the x-ray source, and slits in the disk chopper wheel can be tapered for more uniform target irradiation.

An X-ray backscatter imaging system for precise searching for container hazardous cargo, includes: an X-ray generator configured to irradiate X-rays toward a search target container; and a cylinder-type scattering X-ray detection collimator configured to allow only scattering X-rays generated on a specific layer of the search target container among the X-rays irradiated from the X-ray generator to pass through, and X-rays scattering on a specific layer is measured by adjusting angles of collimators based on a layer to be measured, so that a search for hazardous cargo by layer of the container can be performed precisely.