The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 25, 2012
Filed:
Sep. 08, 2010
Anton Nikitin, Houston, TX (US);
Alexandr Vinokurov, Novosibirsk, RU;
Anton Nikitin, Houston, TX (US);
Alexandr Vinokurov, Novosibirsk, RU;
Bake Hughes Incorporated, Houston, TX (US);
Abstract
An apparatus for performing an operation in a borehole penetrating the earth includes a borehole tool and a neutron source within the borehole tool that emits neutron-alpha particles pairs as the result of a nuclear reaction. The apparatus also includes an alpha particle detector within the borehole tool arranged to detect when an alpha particle emitted by the neutron source strikes it and a gamma ray detector to detect gamma rays produced as a result of interactions between neutrons produced by the neutron source and at least one material in an area of interest outside of the borehole. The apparatus also includes a processing system that determines a characteristic of the area of interest based on a time difference between when the alpha particle strikes the alpha particle detector and a time when one or more gamma rays strikes the gamma ray detector.