In proof-of-principle experiments, the UNL scientists used the laser-driven X-ray source to produce an image of a uranium disk no bigger than a stack of three nickels and hidden between 3-inch steel panels.
"For the first time, we have used our new X-ray source to detect a nuclear material inside a shielded container," said Donald Umstadter, director of the Diocles Laboratory and leader of the project.
The Domestic Nuclear Detection Office of the Department of Homeland Security funds the research. The government is evaluating the technology.
Inspectors need tools to help find nuclear materials hidden behind thick shielding or smuggled inside any of the 100 million-plus cargo containers shipped around the world each year. Uranium is perhaps the easiest nuclear material to obtain and hide, Umstadter said.