Compact antineutrino detector for reactor monitoring
This technology is a specialized detector designed to sense antineutrinos — subatomic particles that pass through virtually everything and are notoriously hard to detect. It works by stacking alternating layers of two different materials: one that captures the positron produced when an antineutrino hits a hydrogen atom, and another that captures the resulting neutron, each layer glowing with light at a different timing signature. By exploiting those different timing signals, the detector can reliably distinguish a genuine antineutrino interaction from background noise. The heterogeneous lattice design allows the detector to be compact and potentially deployable outside of a laboratory environment.
What you could build
A compact, standoff antineutrino detector that can be deployed near nuclear reactors to passively monitor reactor operation and verify compliance with nonproliferation treaties — the primary buyers would be national laboratories, defense agencies, and IAEA-adjacent organizations.
Who in Virginia should care
Defense and intelligence contractors in Northern Virginia (e.g., SAIC, Leidos, Booz Allen) and national labs like Jefferson Lab would have direct interest in reactor monitoring and nuclear nonproliferation tools.
Readiness: Prototype likely
Concept — described but not yet demonstrated. Lab validated — supported by experimental results in the patent. Prototype likely — the text describes a built, working embodiment.
Readiness is inferred from the patent text, not from a lab visit.
The record
- Inventors
- Patrick Huber, Jonathan M. Link, Mariani Camillo
- Granted
- October 1, 2019
- Status
- Granted patent
- Patent number
- 10429526
Ready to talk?
Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties handles licensing for this technology.
Prosim summaries are generated from public patent text and are not legal advice.