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NASA NTRS2001

The Energetic Trans-Iron Composition Experiment (ENTICE) on the Heavy Nuclei Explorer (HNX) Mission

The Energetic Trans-Iron Composition Experiment (ENTICE) experiment is one of two experiments which comprise the Heavy Nuclei Explorer (HNX) mission. The experimental goal of ENTICE is to measure with high precision the elemental abundances of all nuclei with 10LZL82. This will enable us to determine if the injection mechanism for the cosmic ray accelerator is controlled by FIP or Volatility and to study the mix of nucleosynthetic processes that contribute to the galactic cosmic ray source. The ENTICE experiment utilizes the dE/dx-C method of charge determination and consists of silicon dE/dx detectors, Cherenkov detectors with two different refractive indices, and a scintillating fiber hodoscope. The geometrical factor of the instrument is approximately 8m2sr. We will present a description of the instrument and its expected performance based on beam tests and a balloon flight of a prototype instrument.

Hink, P. L.↗

NASA NTRS2001

The Energetic Trans-Iron Composition Experiment (ENTICE) on the Heavy Nuclei Explorer (HNX)

The ENTICE experiment is one of two instruments which make up the HNX mission. The experimental goal of ENTICE is to measure with high precision the elemental abundances of all nuclei with 10<=Z<=82. This will enable us to distinguish between possible injection mechanisms for the galactic cosmic ray accelerator such-as those dependent upon volatility or first ionization potential, and to study the mix of nucleosynthetic processes that contribute to the galactic cosmic ray source. The ENTICE experiment utilizes the dE/dx-C method of charge determination and consists of silicon dE/dx detectors, Cherenkov detectors with two different refractive indices, and a scintillating fiber hodoscope. The geometrical factor of the instrument is 8m2.sr. We will present a description of the instrument and its expected performance based on beam tests and a balloon flight of a prototype instrument.

Israel, M. H.↗

NASA NTRS2001

Accelerator Test of an Imaging Calorimeter

The Imaging Calorimeter for ACCESS (ICA) utilizes a thin sampling calorimeter concept for direct measurements of high-energy cosmic rays. The ICA design uses arrays of small scintillating fibers to measure the energy and trajectory of the produced cascades. A test instrument has been developed to study the performance of this concept at accelerator energies and for comparison with simulations. Two test exposures have been completed using a CERN test beam. Some results from the accelerator tests are presented.

Christl, Mark J.↗

NASA NTRS2001

An Imaging Calorimeter for Access-Concept Study

A mission concept study to define the "Advanced Cosmic-ray Composition Experiment for Space Station (ACCESS)" was sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The ACCESS instrument complement contains a transition radiation detector and an ionization calorimeter to measure tile spectrum of protons, helium, and heavier nuclei up to approximately 10(exp 15) eV to search for the limit of S/N shock wave acceleration, or evidence for other explanations of the spectra. Several calorimeter configurations have been studied, including the "baseline" totally active bismuth germanate instrument and sampling calorimeters utilizing various detectors. The Imaging Calorimeter for ACCESS (ICA) concept comprises a carbon target and a calorimeter using a high atomic number absorber sampled approximately each radiation length (rl) by thin scintillating fiber (SCIFI) detectors. The main features and options of the ICA instrument configuration are described in this paper. Since direct calibration is not possible over most of the energy range, the best approach must be decided from simulations of calorimeter performance extrapolated from CERN calibrations at 0.375 TeV. This paper presents results from the ICA simulations study.

Parnell, T. A.↗

NASA NTRS2003

Design and Performance Tests of Ultra-Compact Calorimeters for High Energy Astrophysics

This R&D project had two goals: a) the study of general-application ultra-compact calorimetry technologies for use in High Energy Astrophysics and, b) contribute to the design of an efficient calorimeter for the ACCESS mission. The direct measurement of galactic cosmic ray fluxes is performed from space or from balloon-borne detectors. Detectors used in those studies are limited in size and, specially, in weight. Since galactic cosmic ray fluxes are very small, detectors with high geometrical acceptances and long exposures are usually required for collecting enough statistics. We have studied calorimeter techniques that could produce large geometrical acceptance per unit of mass (G/w) and that may be used to study galactic cosmic rays at intermediate energies (knee energies).-The most important asset for detection of primary cosmic rays at and about the knee is large acceptance. To construct a large acceptance calorimeter (this term is used here in its most general accepted meaning of calorimeter as a device to measure particle energies ) the detector needs to be verv liaht or verv shallow . We studied two possible technologies to built compact calorimeters: the use of lead-tungstate crystals (PWO) and the use of sampling calorimetry using scintillating fibers embedded in a matrix of powder tungsten. For a very light detector, we considered the possibility of using Optical Transition Radiation (OTR) to measure the energy (and perhaps also direction and identity) of VHE cosmic rays.

Salgado, Carlos W.↗

NASA NTRS2007

Micro-Fabricated Solid-State Radiation Detectors for Active Personal Dosimetry

Active radiation dosimetry is important to human health and equipment functionality for space applications outside the protective environment of a space station or vehicle. This is especially true for long duration missions to the moon, where the lack of a magnetic field offers no protection from space radiation to those on extravehicular activities. In order to improve functionality, durability and reliability of radiation dosimeters for future NASA lunar missions, single crystal silicon carbide devices and scintillating fiber detectors are currently being investigated for applications in advanced extravehicular systems. For many years, NASA Glenn Research Center has led significant efforts in silicon carbide semiconductor technology research and instrumentation research for sensor applications under extreme conditions. This report summarizes the technical progress and accomplishments toward characterization of radiation-sensing components for the recommendation of their fitness for advanced dosimetry development.

Wrbanek, John D.↗

NASA NTRS2001

Method and apparatus for imaging through 3-dimensional tracking of protons

A method and apparatus for creating density images of an object through the 3-dimensional tracking of protons that have passed through the object are provided. More specifically, the 3-dimensional tracking of the protons is accomplished by gathering and analyzing images of the ionization tracks of the protons in a closely packed stack of scintillating fibers.

Ryan, James M.↗

NASA NTRS2019

Advanced Electronics for the SONTRAC Neutron Spectrometer

Solar neutrons are the tell-tale of highly energetic processes (e.g. solar flares) at the Sun in which particle acceleration is taking place over a broad range in energy. Unlike charged radiation, neutrons escape unscathed from the ambient magnetic fields, providing a view of particle acceleration unhindered by the effects of transport. High-energy neutrons are challenging to measure with the traditional double scatter technique based on time-of-flight (ToF). This technique is limited by the finite flight path and active scintillator sizes required by small satellite platforms. The new SOlar Neutron TRACking (SONTRAC) concept, based on scintillating-fiber bundles, will provide high resolution imaging of fast neutrons at energies where the bulk of solar and magnetospheric neutrons resides. Recent development of the new SONTRAC instrument concept's advanced electronics and processing algorithms are presented.

SiPM readout↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

The Solar Neutron TRACking (SONTRAC) Instrument for the Detection of Fast Neutrons

Fast neutrons (energies >0.5 MeV) contribute to the radiation exposure of space hardware and astronaut crew, enable greater understanding of planetary atmospheric and surface compositions and allow unique measurements of solar particle acceleration. Neutrons are challenging to detect and measurements of them typically suffer from high background rates. High energy neutrons (>50 MeV) pose even more challenges, because the traditional double-scatter technique based on a time-of-flight (ToF) measurement. These measurements are challenging due to size constraints on satellites, particularly newer small satellites. The SOlar Neutron TRACking instrument (SONTRAC) is a small satellite neutron detector that utilizes fine-grained scintillating fiber bundles with 1-mm pitch silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) array readout. Signal processing is accomplished with multichannel ASICs. SONTRAC is able to image fast neutron (between 20-200 MeV) scatters in a compact scalable package. We discuss below the numerous applications of this technology and recent progress on the development and performance characteristics of the prototype instrument.

Georgia A de Nolfo↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

1D Projections Readout and Track Reconstruction for the SONTRAC Instrument

Neutron spectroscopy and imaging has improved considerably over the last decade with the advancement of modern scintillating materials and compact, low power readout devices. Though challenging to detect, fast (>0.5 MeV) neutrons are ubiquitous, contribute to the radiation exposure of astronauts and space hardware, and have been effectively used to examine physical processes both locally and within our heliosphere at large. The SOlar Neutron TRACking (SONTRAC) instrument is designed to measure neutrons between 20-200 MeV with good angular sensitivity. SONTRAC consists of orthogonally stacked scintillating fibers readout by silicon photomultipliers to detect and track the recoil protons from double scatter neutron events. Proton tracking provides high-resolution imaging of fast neutronsat energies where the bulk of solar and planetary neutrons resides. The SONTRAC readout system, algorithms for track reconstruction, and tracking performance are presented.

George Suarez↗

NASA NTRS2019

CALET Results After Three Years on Orbit on the International Space Station

The CALorimetric Electron Telescope (CALET) is an astroparticle physics experiment installed on the International Space Station since August 2015. The CALET mission was conceived to address several outstanding questions of high-energy astroparticle physics, like indirect detection of dark matter, the origin of cosmic rays (CRs), their mechanisms of acceleration and galactic propagation, the presence of possible nearby astrophysical CR sources. That can be achieved by precise measurements of the fluxes of CR electrons and gamma-rays up to the unexplored region above 1 TeV, and the energy spectra and composition of CR nuclei from a few tens of GeV to hundreds of TeV. In order to perform these observations, the instrument combines a thick total absorption PWO crystal calorimeter for energy measurement, a scintillator hodoscope for charge identi cation and thin imaging tungsten-scintillating fiber calorimeter providing accurate particle tracking and complementary charge measurement. In this paper, we will present an overview of the main CALET results based on the data collected in the first three years of the mission.

P Maestro↗

NASA NTRS2009

Microstructured Optical Fiber for X-ray Detection

A novel scintillating optical fiber is presented using a composite micro-structured quartz optical fiber. Scintillating materials are introduced into the multiple inclusions of the fiber. This creates a composite optical fiber having quartz as a cladding with an organic scintillating material core. X-ray detection using these fibers is compared to a collimated cadmium telluride (CdTe) detector over an energy range from 10 to 40 keV. Results show a good correlation between the fiber count rate trend and that of the CdTe detector.

DeHaven, Stanton L.↗

NASA NTRS1999

Electron Induced Scintillation Testing of Commercially Available Optical Fibers for Space Flight

A test to verify the performance of several commercial and military optical fibers available on the market today was conducted, via usage of an electron accelerator, to monitor radiation induced scintillation or luminescence. The test results showed that no significant effects could be detected with the PMT system used, above a noise floor of 50 photons/sec that were due to optical fiber scintillation. Although some data appeared to show events taking place, noise scan results have correlated these events to arcing inside the electron accelerator facility. This test was to simply characterize for space flight, which optical fiber candidates were the largest scintillators among the eighteen optical fiber candidates tested.

Ott, Melanie N.↗

NASA NTRS1976

Evaluation of clad scintillating light pipes

Arrays of fibers made of scintillating material were used as position-sensitive detectors or hodoscopes for beam-finding at ion accelerators. Experiments were made with alpha's from an Am241 source incident upon one end of the fiber, the other end being viewed with a photomultiplier tube. The scintillation light was not detected in any of the fibers tested beyond about 5 cm. The effective useful lengths for detection of relativistic heavy ions were given.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS1985

Bevalac calibration of the SOFIE range and hodoscope detectors

The scintillating optical fiber isotope experiment (SOFIE) is a Cerenkov-dE/dx-Range experiment which was developed initially for balloon flight to study the isotopic composition of cosmic rays in the iron region. The electronic range and hodoscope detectors use scintillating optical fibers to image the tracks of stopping charged particles and to determine their trajectory. The particle range is determined and used together with a Cerenkov measurement to determine the mass of the stopping particle. Preliminary results of a Bevalac calibration performed in August, 1984 with a prototype of the balloon flight instrument, to study the measurement precision in range and trajectory which could be attained with this detector are described.

Binns, W. R.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Gas scintillation drift chambers with wave shifter fiber readout

Results for a prototype xenon gas scintillation drift chamber are presented. Its operation is discussed using two types of light detection schemes: one based on an Anger camera geometry and one based on an array of wave-shifting light fibers. The results are judged to demonstrate the instrument's potential.

Sadoulet, Bernard↗

NASA NTRS1985

SONTRAC: A solar neutron track chamber detector

The recent detection on the solar maximum mission (SMM) satellite of high energy neutrons emitted during large solar flares has provided renewed incentive to design a neutron detector which has the sensitivity, energy resolution, and time resolution to measure the neutron time and energy spectra with sufficient precision to improve our understanding of the basic flare processes. Over the past two decades a variety of neutron detectors has been flown to measure the atmospheric neutron intensity above 10 MeV and to search for solar neutrons. The SONTRAC (Solar Neutron Track Chamber) detector, a new type of neutron detector which utilizes n-p scattering and has a sensitivity 1-3 orders of magnitude greater than previous instruments in the 20-200 MeV range is described. The energy resolution is 1% for neutron kinetic energy, T sub n 50 MeV. When used with a coded aperture mask at 50 m (as would be possible on the space station) an angular resolution of approx. 4 arc sec could be achieved, thereby locating the sites of high energy nuclear interactions with an angular precision comparable to the existing x-ray experiments on SMM. The scintillation chamber is investigated as a track chamber for high energy physics, either by using arrays of scintillating optical fibers or by optical imaging of particle trajectories in a block of scintillator.

Frye, G. M., Jr.↗

NASA NTRS1976

The specific light output of cesium iodide crystals

Large area ion chambers for a high energy cosmic ray experiment, scintillating plastic fibers as light pipes for a cosmic ray hodoscope, and an evaluation of clad scintillating light pipes were considered.

Gregory, J. C.↗