One can envision many circumstances where radiography could be valuable but is frustrated by the geometry of the object to be radiographed. For example, extremely large objects, the separation of rocket propellants from the skin of solid fuel rocket motor, the structural integrity of an underground tank or hull of a ship, the location of buried objects, inspection of large castings etc. The author has been investigating ways to do this type of radiography and as a result has developed a technique which can be used to obtain three dimensional radiographs using Compton scattered radiation from a monochromatic source and a high efficiency, high resolution germanium spectrometer. This paper gives specific details of the reconstruction technique and presents the results of numerous numerical simulations and compares these simulations to spectra obtained in the laboratory. In addition the author presents the results of calculations made for the development of an alternative single sided radiography technique which will permit inspection of the interior of large objects. As a benchmark the author seeks to obtain three dimensional images with a resolution of about one cubic centimeter in a concrete cube 30 centimeters on a side. Such a device must use photons of very …

The author is developing a technique which will enable one to obtain high-contrast, high-spatial resolution, three-dimensional images in opaque objects. The only constraint will be the radiation source and detector(s) will be located on the same side of the object. The goal is to obtain images with a spatial resolution of {approximately}1 mm at depths of 10 mm and {approximately}3 mm at depths of 30 mm in materials of moderate density (brass, steel, etc.). The author`s technique uses a highly-collimated beam of monochromatic gamma rays and a slit collimated high-resolution, high-efficiency, coaxial germanium spectrometer. If the geometry is well known, the spectrum of Compton scattered radiation can be used to map out the density as a function of depth. By scanning the object in two dimensions, a full three-dimensional image of the electron density can be reconstructed. The resolution is dependent on the incident beam collimation and the energy resolution of the spectrometer. For his system, the author anticipates a resolution of about 1 mm{sup 3}. The apparatus, reconstruction algorithms and current data verifying his predictions are presented here. Also included are the details on how the system can be modified to increase the efficiency by over two orders of …