Beginning in August, the consortium will conduct five weeks of experiments at the ELI-NP facility in Magurele, near Bucharest, Romania. This high-power laser technology will generate multi-GeV electron beams, convert them into a directed muon[1] beam, and demonstrate non-destructive imaging of industrial objects. Ideon will capture the results using advanced muon detectors customized to receive and measure such an intense beam.
This initiative sits at the very frontier of physics. The laser-plasma accelerator fires intense, ultra-short laser pulses into a gas cell, ionizing it into a plasma and generating a powerful “wake” of electrical fields that accelerates electrons to energies of 8–15 GeV; previously achievable only with particle accelerator facilities hundreds of metres or kilometers long. Those electrons are then directed into a dense converter material, producing a directed beam of muons. Ideon will deploy multiple of its advanced compact muon detectors to capture, track, and image the resulting muon beam; and to image the contents of the target.
Simulations predict approximately tens of thousands of muons per shot. Cosmic-ray muons, the passive source that Ideon uses today, arrive at a rate that results in imaging campaigns lasting hours to weeks to months, depending on depth and desired spatial resolution. A compact, directed, laser-driven muon source operating at one shot per minute can deliver equivalent or better imaging performance in a fraction of the time, with the added benefit of directionality and controllable beam parameters.
“Ideon uses the penetrating power of particles born from some of the most energetic events in the universe. Until now, we’ve relied on the natural muon flux that nature provides. This collaboration could change that equation entirely,” said Dr. Douglas Schouten, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer, Ideon Technologies. “For the first time, a compact accelerator can generate a muon beam for high-resolution imaging on demand. That speed and portability create a breakthrough that unlocks orders-of-magnitude faster subsurface imaging.”
Schouten added that “our role is to demonstrate that our sensors and full data processing and analysis platform can work seamlessly with this new class of muon source, and to build the processing capacity to turn those raw muon tracks into subsurface models and decision-grade intelligence. From there, we will work with our partners to develop a commercial product that can transform imaging of large industrial and earthen structures across various vertical markets. Ideon is already the world leader in muon-based subsurface imaging for mining; investing in this next-generation capability will unlock even greater value across our growing global customer base.”
The ELI-NP campaign is one of two active muon source projects Ideon is advancing simultaneously. In parallel, Ideon was awarded funding by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) under its Reliable Ore Characterization with Keystone Sensing (ROCKS) program, a project led by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). In that project, LBNL’s BELLA Center will develop a staged laser-plasma accelerator targeting 20–25 GeV electrons and muons, with Ideon contributing advanced detector technology and the Ideon REVEAL® Subsurface Intelligence Platform® for data fusion and 3D density imaging. Together, the ELI-NP campaign and the ARPA-E ROCKS project position Ideon at the centre of a global effort to make compact, deployable active muon sources a commercial reality for critical mineral resource development, mining operations, and beyond.
