Detection of buried landmine with X-ray backscatter technique

We describe a continuously operating scanning X-ray imaging system developed for landmine detection based on a backscatter X-ray principle, thus detection is done from the same side as the source. The source operates at 120 kV p and 3 mA. To study the physics of Compton X-ray backscattering, the photon transport factor, backscatter factor (BSF) and backscatter probability (BSP) were simulated using Monte-Carlo calculations using the generalized particle transport program MCNP. Based on the Monte-Carlo analyses results, a mine detecting system has been designed. It potentially has a low false alarm rate and a high detection probability, and a direct imaging facility.