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The proof-of-concept involved modulating neutrons from a calfornium 252 source using an Arduino-controlled mechanical shutter built from high-density polythene.
Detection involved a one litre tank of scintillating meterial, a photo-multiplier and a ‘mixed-field analyser’ (made by Hybrid Instruments, based at the university) to separate the scintillation profile of the wanted fast neutrons from noise caused by gamma rays.
0 and 1 were differentiated by the rate at which neutrons were detected – which almost doubled when the shutter was opened.
Despite the modest data rate – one bit every 10s – ASCII text was sent across the few-centimetre link.
“We demonstrate the potential of fast neutron radiation as a medium for wireless communications for applications where conventional electromagnetic transmission is either not feasible or is inherently limited,” said Professor Malcolm Joyce.
For example, where?
“In some safety-critical scenarios, such as concerning the integrity of reactor containments, and metal vaults and bulkheads in maritime structures, it can be important to minimise the number of penetrations made through such metal structures for communications cabling,” he said.
In the Lancaster experiment, for safety, the californium has to reside in a steel tank a metre across, and the shutter was 120mm thick to achieve the ~2:1 flux difference. However, the researchers pointed out that integrated circuit modulated neutron sources already exists.
Lancaster University worked with the Jožef Stefan Institute in Slovenia
The project is described in the Science Direct paper ‘Wireless information transfer with fast neutrons‘, and a modulated neutron transmitter is covered in ‘Novel surface-mounted neutron generator‘, published by the IEEE.
