Researchers at the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have now confirmed that quantum sensors recently developed by the Institute will help scientists more accurately monitor nuclear material used at nuclear power plants.
According to an article posted on the NIST website, researchers used transition-edge sensors (TESs) that incorporate a superconducting film. This film, when held at a fraction of a degree above absolute zero, falls in the transition region between a zero-resistance superconductor and an ordinary metal with measurable resistance.
Resistance in these TESs is directly proportional to the energy of the photon, enabling the sensor to conduct high-resolution energy measurements. Researchers have determined that the sensitivity of TESs significantly reduces the uncertainty of X-ray energy measurements in previous testing.
This development reportedly will allow scientists to filter out X-ray background noise so that the accumulation of nuclear materials can be more precisely measured and evaluated. TESs will also allow them to more rapidly assess the composition of nuclear materials.