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DOE OSTI2019

Searching for Low-Mass Dark Matter with SuperCDMS Soudan Detectors

SuperCDMS is a direct-detection dark matter (DM) experiment that uses cryogenically cooled germanium and silicon detectors to search for interac- tions between DM particles and detector nuclei, and in this thesis I describe my contributions to the experiment. I start with a brief review of DM and motivate the possibility of its de- tection in underground laboratories with sensitive detectors, and I review the SuperCDMS detector fundamentals. Then I focus on detector develop- ment for the future generation of the experiment, which will deploy an array of detectors at SNOLAB in Sudbury, Canada. Specifically I describe char- acterization of prototype detectors from surface facility testing, and discuss measurements of critical values that determine the detectors’ sensitivity to DM particles, such as the baseline resolution and the phonon collection ef- ficiency. I also describe analysis techniques developed to measure intrinsic detector noise in a high radiation environment such as a surface test facility. In the final chapters I describe a DM search analysis using four months of data from operation of SuperCDMS detectors in the Soudan Mine in northern Minnesota. I discuss how a particular detector operating mode, called CDMSlite, lowers the energy threshold of the detectors in order to improve the sensitivity to low-mass DM particles. I also present new analysis techniques that optimize the sensitivity to low-mass DM particles, including noise discrimination with multivariate classifiers, instrumental background modeling, and a profile likelihood signal and background fitting approach. In this analysis we set an upper limit on the DM-nucleon scattering cross section in germanium that is a factor of 2.5 improvement over the previous CDMSlite result for a DM mass that is five times the proton rest mass.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2022

Boron Nitride Solid-State Neutron Detectors

The goal of this project is to build upon the work performed under the Texas Tech IDEAS project (DE-AR0000964 monitored by Dr. Isik Kizilyalli) to bring the developed B-10 enriched hexagonal boron nitride (h- 10 BN or 10 BN or BN) semiconductor neutron detector technology to the next level of maturity. In comparison to He-3 ( 3 He) gas detectors, BN neutron detectors possess all the intrinsic advantages of semiconductor devices: light weight, compact size, fast response speed, high spatial resolution, high temperature and low voltage operation capability, ease of mass production via existing semiconductor infrastructures, low cost of operation and maintenance, flexible form factors, and durability. The project will develop a prototype h- 10 BN neutron detector as a potential replacement for the 3 He gas neutron detectors (LND 25185 or equivalent) used in various neutron survey meters currently produced and commercialized by Ludlum Measurements, Inc. (LMI). To increase the overall detection efficiency, it is essential to maximize the collection efficiency of charge carriers (electrons and holes) generated by the nuclear reaction, which demands a further push to achieve 10 BN epilayers with improved material quality. The material growth processes will be guided by characterization of structural, optical, and electrical properties of h-BN. Selective devices will be calibrated at LMI. During ARPA-E supporting period, the key material parameters of h-BN produced by metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), including the layer thickness, mobility-lifetime product, surface recombination field and detector size for maintaining a high charge collection efficiency all have been improved by several orders of magnitude. These improvements have enabled the realization of high-performance h 10BN semiconductor thermal neutron detectors. Presently, h- 10 BN thermal neutron detectors developed under ARPA-E’s support hold the record high detection efficiency among all solid-state detectors at 59%. With further development in manufacturing, there is no question that h-BN detectors will replace the traditional He-3 gas detectors in certain application areas by offering obvious advantages of semiconductor technologies over gas detectors and opportunities for users to dedicate the scarce and expensive supply of He-3 gas to other application areas where substitutes of He-3 gas are not possible.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

NASA NTRS1994

Delay Line Detectors for the UVCS and Sumer Instruments on the SOHO Satellite

Microchannel plate based detectors with cross delay line image readout have been rapidly implemented for the SUMER and UVCS instruments aboard the Solar Orbiting Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) mission to be launched in July 1995. In October 1993 a fast track program to build and characterize detectors and detector control electronics was initiated. We present the detector system design for the SOHO UVCS and SUMER detector programs, and results from the detector test program. Two deliverable detectors have been built at this point, a demonstration model for UVCS, and the flight Ly alpha detector for UVCS, both of which are to be delivered in the next few weeks. Test results have also been obtained with one other demonstration detector system. The detector format is 26mm x 9mm, with 1024 x 360 digitized pixels, using a low resistance Z stack of microchannel plates (MCP's) and a multilayer cross delay line anode (XDL). This configuration provides gains of approximately 2 x 10(exp 7) with good pulse height distributions (less than 50% FWHM) under uniform flood illumination, and background levels typical for this configuration (approximately 0.6 event cm (exp -2)sec(exp -1)). Local counting rates up to about 400 events/pixel/sec have been achieved with no degradation of the MCP gain. The detector and event encoding electronics achieves about 25 millimeter FVHM with good linearity (plus or minus approximately 1 pixel) and is stable to high global counting rates (greater than 4 x 10(exp 5) events sec(exp -1)). Flat field images are dominated by MCP fixed pattern noise and are stable, but the MCP multifiber modulation usually expected is uncharacteristically absent. The detector and electronics have also successfully passed both thermal vacuum and vibration tests.

Seigmund, O. H. W.↗

NASA NTRS2016

Detectors and Focal Plane Modules for Weather Satellites

Weather satellite instruments require detectors with a variety of wavelengths ranging from the visible to VLWIR. One of the remote sensing applications is the geostationary GOES-ABI imager covering wavelengths from the 450 to 490 nm band through the 13.0 to 13.6 micron band. There are a total of 16 spectral bands covered. The Cross-track infrared Sounder (CrIS) is a Polar Orbiting interferometric sensor that measures earth radiances at high spectral resolution, using the data to provide pressure, temperature and moisture profiles of the atmosphere. The pressure, temperature and moisture sounding data are used in weather prediction models that track storms, predict levels of precipitation etc. The CrIS instrument contains SWIR (lamba(sub c) approximately 5 micron at 98K), MWIR (lambda(sub c) approximately 9 micron at 98K) and LWIRs (lamba(sub c) approximately 15.5 micron at 81K) bands in three Focal Plane Array Assemblies (FPAAs). GOES-ABI contains three focal plane modules (FPMs), (i) a visible-near infrared module consisting of three visible and three near infrared channels, (ii) a MWIR module comprised of five channels from 3.9 micron to 8.6 micron and (iii) a 9.6 micron to 13.3 micron, five-channel LWIR module. The VNIR FPM operates at 205 K, and the MWIR and LWIR FPMs operate at 60 K. Each spectral channel has a redundant array built into a single detector chip. Switching is thus permitted from the primary selected array in each channel to the redundant array, given any degradation in performance of the primary array during the course of the mission. Silicon p-i-n detectors are used for the 0.47 micron to 0.86 micron channels. The thirteen channels above 1 micron are fabricated in various compositions of Hg1-xCdxTe, and in this particular case using two different detector architectures. The 1.38 micron to 9.61 micron channels are all fabricated in Hg1-xCdxTe grown by Liquid Phase Epitaxy (LPE) using the HDVIP detector architecture. Molecular beam epitaxy (MBE)-grown Hg1-xCdxTe material are used for the LWIR 10.35 micron to 13.3 micron channels fabricated in Double layer planar heterostructure (DLPH) detectors. This is the same architecture used for the CrIS detectors CrIS detectors are 850 micron diameter detectors with each FPAA consisting of nine photovoltaic detectors arranged in a 3 x 3 pattern. Each detector has an accompanying cold preamplifier. SWIR and MWIR FPAAs operate at 98 K and the LWIR FPAA at 81 K, permitting the use of passive radiators to cool the detectors. D* requirements at peak wavelength are ≥ 5.0E+10 Jones for LWIR, ≥ 9.3E+10 Jones for MWIR and ≥ 3.0E+11 Jones for SWIR. All FPAAs exceeded the D* requirements. Measured mean values for the nine photodiodes in each of the LWIR, MWIR and SWIR FPAAs are D* = 5.3 x 10(exp 10) cm-Hz(exp 1/2)/W at 14.0 micron, 1.0 x 10(exp 11) cm-Hz(exp 1/2)/W at 8.0 micron and 3.1 x 10(exp 11) cm-Hz(exp 1/2)/W at 4.64 micron.

satellite instruments↗

DOE OSTI2024

10 Boron-film-based gas detectors at ESS

The development of detectors for the European Spallation Source is an important parallel element to the effort put into the design and construction of the neutron source and instruments. The 10Boron-film-based detector developments that started over a decade ago as basic detector concepts have now reached technical maturity after intense prototyping work and numerous testing campaigns. Several of the ESS beamlines that will soon enter the commissioning phase started welcoming the detector systems built with the 10 B-film converter technology. The real-size demonstrators evolved in the last 2–3 years into a diverse suite of gas proportional counters for use in diffraction, reflectometry and small-angle scattering studies in spite of the operational complexity posed by the requirements for large-area coverage, low material budget and robustness for operation in the high-flux and high-radiation environment of ESS. The detectors are now being shipped to ESS or undergoing the last performance and calibration tests before being handed over to the instrument teams for installation in the host beamlines. A common feature of these detector systems is the very large number of readout channels that they are instrumented with in order to fulfill the demanding requirements for sensitivity, spatial resolution and count-rate capability. Across all of the detector types that will operate at ESS, the integration, testing and commissioning of the read-out technologies and software tools for data reduction, calibration and analysis are the focus of the detector and integration teams. These will yield a wealth of knowledge about their operation as well as initial results on the in-situ performance, a very important asset to ensure rapid commissioning of the detectors when neutrons from the ESS source become available. In this paper we will give an overview of the 10 B-film-based detector technologies included in the ESS detector suite that are currently facing the transition from the production phase to installation and integration with the other beamline components, which comes with its own specific challenges of both organizational and technical nature.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

DOE OSTI2016

Large arrays of dual-polarized multichroic TES detectors for CMB measurements with the SPT-3G receiver

Now, detectors for cosmic microwave background (CMB) experiments are background limited, so a straightforward alternative to improve sensitivity is to increase the number of detectors. Large arrays of multichroic pixels constitute an economical approach to increasing the number of detectors within a given focal plane area. We present the fabrication of large arrays of dual-polarized multichroic transition-edge-sensor (TES) bolometers for the South Pole Telescope third-generation CMB receiver (SPT-3G). The complete SPT-3G receiver will have 2690 pixels, each with six detectors, allowing for individual measurement of three spectral bands (centered at 95 GHz, 150 GHz and 220 GHz) in two orthogonal polarizations. In total, the SPT-3G focal plane will have 16140 detectors. Each pixel is comprised of a broad-band sinuous antenna coupled to a niobium microstrip transmission line. In-line filters are used to define the different band-passes before the millimeter-wavelength signal is fed to the respective Ti/Au TES sensors. Detectors are read out using a 64x frequency domain multiplexing (fMux) scheme. The microfabrication of the SPT-3G detector arrays involves a total of 18 processes, including 13 lithography steps. Together with the fabrication process, the effect of processing on the Ti/Au TES's T-c is discussed. In addition, detectors fabricated with Ti/Au TES films with Tc between 400 mK 560 mK are presented and their thermal characteristics are evaluated. Optical characterization of the arrays is presented as well, indicating that the response of the detectors is in good agreement with the design values for all three spectral bands (95 GHz, 150 GHz, and 220 GHz). The measured optical efficiency of the detectors is between 0.3 and 0.8. Our results discussed here are extracted from a batch of research of development wafers used to develop the baseline process for the fabrication of the arrays of detectors to be deployed with the SPT-3G receiver. Results from these research and development wafers have been incorporated into the fabrication process to get the baseline fabrication process presented here. SPT-3G is scheduled to deploy to the South Pole Telescope in late 2016.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2013

Neutron Damage in Mechanically-Cooled High-Purity Germanium Detectors for Field-Portable Prompt Gamma Neutron Activation Analysis (PGNAA) Systems

Prompt Gamma Neutron Activation (PGNAA) systems require the use of a gamma-ray spectrometer to record the gamma-ray spectrum of an object under test and allow the determination of the object’s composition. Field-portable systems, such as Idaho National Laboratory’s PINS system, have used standard liquid-nitrogen-cooled high-purity germanium (HPGe) detectors to perform this function. These detectors have performed very well in the past, but the requirement of liquid-nitrogen cooling limits their use to areas where liquid nitrogen is readily available or produced on-site. Also, having a relatively large volume of liquid nitrogen close to the detector can impact some assessments, possibly leading to a false detection of explosives or other nitrogen-containing chemical. Use of a mechanically-cooled HPGe detector is therefore very attractive for PGNAA applications where nitrogen detection is critical or where liquid-nitrogen logistics are problematic. Mechanically-cooled HPGe detectors constructed from p-type germanium, such as Ortec’s trans-SPEC, have been commercially available for several years. In order to assess whether these detectors would be suitable for use in a fielded PGNAA system, Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has been performing a number of tests of the resistance of mechanically-cooled HPGe detectors to neutron damage. These detectors have been standard commercially-available p-type HPGe detectors as well as prototype n-type HPGe detectors. These tests compare the performance of these different detector types as a function of crystal temperature and incident neutron fluence on the crystal.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2018

Frequency domain multiplexing of pulse mode radiation detectors

The capability to multiplex scintillation detectors or other pulse mode radiation detectors is necessary in some applications where a large number of detectors is required. Frequency domain multiplexing has been previously implemented for applications in astronomy using amplitude modulation on radiation detectors such as transition-edge sensors. We propose here an alternative method for multiplexing pulse mode radiation detectors in the frequency domain using convolution. We pass the detector signal to a resonator circuit that converts a detector pulse to a damped sinusoid of a specific frequency which gives a unique tag to the detector. We have developed a prototype frequency-domain multiplexed system for four EJ-309 organic scintillator detectors using four resonators of unique frequencies. The resonator outputs are combined using a fan-in circuit which is then connected to a single digitizer input. Using this system, we further demonstrate that the charge collected under the original anode pulse can be estimated from the power spectrum of the damped sinusoid with a relative uncertainty of about 2%. The time-of-arrival of the anode pulse can be estimated using constant fraction discrimination applied to the leading edge of the damped sinusoid with an uncertainty of about 450 ps. We also used a CeBr3 detector to test the performance of our system for spectroscopic applications and found only small degradation in the resolution for a multiplexed detector.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2022

Photon detector response function methodology using MCNP and shift hybrid radiation transport code for wide-area contamination assay applications

Here, radiation transport modeling using the Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP) radiation transport code and Monte Carlo code, Shift, were employed to model detector responses for a variety of wide-area photon contamination scenarios. In this study, 2" × 2" and 3" × 3" cylindrical NaI(Tl) scintillation detector configurations at source detector-distances of 0.5 cm, 1 cm, 2.54 cm, 10 cm, and 30 cm were modeled. Media of soil, concrete, and steel were evaluated for contamination depths ranging from surface to a depth of an infinite thickness in each medium for photon energies ranging from 20 keV to 3 MeV, which correspond to the energies that current detectors can discern. Monoenergetic photon surface contamination detector responses for each of the media, source–detector distances, and detectors were estimated using MCNP v6.2. Shift was harnessed for improved variance reduction of particle transport in highly attenuating media to obtain average cell fluxes in the two MCNP NaI(Tl) scintillation detector configurations. Average cell flux values in Shift were coupled with detector responses from MCNP to convert average cell flux in a void to energy distribution of pulses in the NaI(Tl) scintillation detector crystal of interest. An optimized detector response function methodology was developed by coupling the MCNP radiation transport method with the Consistent Adjoint Driven Importance Sampling (CADIS) hybrid radiation transport method built into Shift to significantly decrease the runtime of thousands of MCNP pulse height simulations. The methodology may be utilized to quickly and accurately facilitate the assessment of a broad range of wide-area environmental contamination assay and decommissioning cleanup applications.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2012

Cone-beam breast computed tomography with a displaced flat panel detector array

Purpose: In cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT), and in particular in cone-beam breast computed tomography (CBBCT), an important issue is the reduction of the image artifacts produced by photon scatter and the reduction of patient dose. In this work, the authors propose to apply the detector displacement technique (also known as asymmetric detector or ''extended view'' geometry) to approach this goal. Potentially, this type of geometry, and the accompanying use of a beam collimator to mask the unirradiated half-object in each projection, permits some reduction of radiation dose with respect to conventional CBBCT and a sizeable reduction of the overall amount of scatter in the object, for a fixed contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR). Methods: The authors consider a scan configuration in which the projection data are acquired from an asymmetrically positioned detector that covers only one half of the scan field of view. Monte Carlo simulations and measurements, with their CBBCT laboratory scanner, were performed using PMMA phantoms of cylindrical (70-mm diameter) and hemiellipsoidal (140-mm diameter) shape simulating the average pendant breast, at 80 kVp. Image quality was evaluated in terms of contrast, noise, CNR, contrast-to-noise ratio per unit of dose (CNRD), and spatial resolution as width of line spread function for high contrast details. Results: Reconstructed images with the asymmetric detector technique deviate less than 1% from reconstruction with a conventional symmetric detector (detector view) and indicate a reduction of the cupping artifact in CT slices. The maximum scatter-to-primary ratio at the center of the phantom decreases by about 50% for both small and large diameter phantoms (e.g., from 0.75 in detector view to 0.40 in extended view geometry at the central axis of the 140-mm diameter PMMA phantom). Less cupping produces an increase of the CT number accuracy and an improved image detail contrast, but the associated increase of noise observed may produce a decrease of detail CNR. By simulating the energy deposited inside the phantoms, the authors evaluated a maximum 50% reduction of the absorbed dose at the expense of a decrease of CNR, for the half beam irradiation of the object performed with the displaced detector technique with respect to full beam irradiation. The decrease in CNR, and in absorbed dose as well, translates into a detail CNRD showing values comparable to or higher than the ones obtained for a conventional symmetric detector technique, attributed to the effect of decreased scatter in particular at the axis of the irradiated object. An estimate is provided (about 12%) for the average dose reduction possible in CBBCT at constant CNR for the average uncompressed breast (14 cm diameter, 50% glandularity), in case of minimum image overlapping in extended view. Conclusions: Simulations and experiments show that CBCT reconstructions with the displaced detector technique and with a half beam collimator are less affected by scatter artifacts, which could lead to some decrease of the radiation dose to the irradiated object with respect to a conventional reconstruction. This dose reduction is associated with increase of noise, decrease of CNR, but equal or improved CNRD values. The use of a small area detector would allow also to reduce the apparatus cost and to improve the data transfer speed with a corresponding increment of frame rate.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗

DOE OSTI2014

SU-E-T-299: Small Fields Profiles Correction Through Detectors Spatial Response Functions and Field Size Dependence Analysis

Purpose: To calculate the spatial response function of various radiation detectors, to evaluate the dependence on the field size and to analyze the small fields profiles corrections by deconvolution techniques. Methods: Crossline profiles were measured on a Novalis Tx 6MV beam with a HDMLC. The configuration setup was SSD=100cm and depth=5cm. Five fields were studied (200×200mm2,100×100mm2, 20×20mm2, 10×10mm2and 5×5mm2) and measured were made with passive detectors (EBT3 radiochromic films and TLD700 thermoluminescent detectors), ionization chambers (PTW30013, PTW31003, CC04 and PTW31016) and diodes (PTW60012 and IBA SFD). The results of passive detectors were adopted as the actual beam profile. To calculate the detectors kernels, modeled by Gaussian functions, an iterative process based on a least squares criterion was used. The deconvolutions of the measured profiles were calculated with the Richardson-Lucy method. Results: The profiles of the passive detectors corresponded with a difference in the penumbra less than 0.1mm. Both diodes resolve the profiles with an overestimation of the penumbra smaller than 0.2mm. For the other detectors, response functions were calculated and resulted in Gaussian functions with a standard deviation approximate to the radius of the detector in study (with a variation less than 3%). The corrected profiles resolve the penumbra with less than 1% error. Major discrepancies were observed for cases in extreme conditions (PTW31003 and 5×5mm2 field size). Conclusion: This work concludes that the response function of a radiation detector is independent on the field size, even for small radiation beams. The profiles correction, using deconvolution techniques and response functions of standard deviation equal to the radius of the detector, gives penumbra values with less than 1% difference to the real profile. The implementation of this technique allows estimating the real profile, freeing from the effects of the detector used for the acquisition.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2014

MO-E-17A-11: In-Phantom Detector Response in a Kilovoltage X-Ray Beam

Purpose: To investigate changes in detector response in a kilovoltage x-ray beam as a function of depth in phantom. Methods: Detector response in a 120kVp x-ray beam as a function of depth in a PMMA phantom was determined for a reference class Exradin A12 ionization chamber, an Exradin A1SL ionization chamber, TLD-100 and EBT3 radiochromic film and normalized to a depth of 1cm. The output of each detector was referenced to the A12 ionization chamber reading to assess changes in detector response as a function of depth. The BEAMnrc, DOSxyz, and egs-chamber user codes of the EGSnrc Monte Carlo code were used to calculate the dose delivered to the detectors from an x-ray source with similar beam quality to the one used in the measurements. Results: Changes in detector response relative to the A12 ionization chamber of 2%, 7%, and 14% for the A1SL, TLDs, and film, respectively, were observed with the larger changes in response occurring at larger depths. The Monte Carlo calculated changes in dose response showed less deviation, with the largest difference being within 2%. Conclusion: The Monte Carlo simulations show that doses delivered to the different detectors are quite similar, while measurements show that the detector output varies drastically. This indicates that the detector output per unit dose is changing with depth, most likely due to changes in the photon spectrum that occur because of scatter and attenuation of the primary beam. Because detector calibration is often performed at a single point in the kilovoltage energy range, the change in detector response needs to be considered when the measurement conditions differ from those of the calibration. This is of particular concern in computed tomography dose measurement, where calibrations are performed at shallow depths or in air, and measurements are made at deeper locations.

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗

DOE OSTI2015

Characterization of a MOSkin detector for in vivo skin dose measurements during interventional radiology procedures

Purpose: The MOSkin is a MOSFET detector designed especially for skin dose measurements. This detector has been characterized for various factors affecting its response for megavoltage photon beams and has been used for patient dose measurements during radiotherapy procedures. However, the characteristics of this detector in kilovoltage photon beams and low dose ranges have not been studied. The purpose of this study was to characterize the MOSkin detector to determine its suitability for in vivo entrance skin dose measurements during interventional radiology procedures. Methods: The calibration and reproducibility of the MOSkin detector and its dependency on different radiation beam qualities were carried out using RQR standard radiation qualities in free-in-air geometry. Studies of the other characterization parameters, such as the dose linearity and dependency on exposure angle, field size, frame rate, depth-dose, and source-to-surface distance (SSD), were carried out using a solid water phantom under a clinical x-ray unit. Results: The MOSkin detector showed good reproducibility (94%) and dose linearity (99%) for the dose range of 2 to 213 cGy. The sensitivity did not significantly change with the variation of SSD (±1%), field size (±1%), frame rate (±3%), or beam energy (±5%). The detector angular dependence was within ±5% over 360° and the dose recorded by the MOSkin detector in different depths of a solid water phantom was in good agreement with the Markus parallel plate ionization chamber to within ±3%. Conclusions: The MOSkin detector proved to be reliable when exposed to different field sizes, SSDs, depths in solid water, dose rates, frame rates, and radiation incident angles within a clinical x-ray beam. The MOSkin detector with water equivalent depth equal to 0.07 mm is a suitable detector for in vivo skin dosimetry during interventional radiology procedures.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2015

SU-E-T-246: Detector Selection for Small Field Measurements, a Comparative Study

Purpose: To compare commercially available detectors for small field dosimetry. Methods: PTW (Freiburg, Germany) diode E, PTW microDiamond, and SunNuclear (Melbourne, FL) Edge detector were used to measure output factors, PDD, and profiles on a Varian iX linear accelerator (Varian Medical Systems, Palo Alto, CA) using 6MV and 18MV photon beams. The water tank was set to 100cm SSD. Centering profiles at 5cm and 20cm depth confirmed an offset <0.1mm. High resolution PDD (0.1mm) aligned the collecting volume at water surface. For setup and linearity verification, PDD and profiles were matched to annual measurements, which were performed with an A1SL ion chamber.Scans were taken for 6X and 18X, for 10cmx10cm, 10cmx2cm, 10cmx1cm, and 10cmx0.5cm fields. Profiles were measured at Dmax (6X=1.5cm, 18X=3.5cm), 5cm, 10cm, and 20cm depths. All fields used 10cmx10cm jaws with the MLC defining the field in the X-direction. PDDs used 2mm step size and 0.2s discrete collecting time. Profiles used 1mm step size and a 0.4s discrete collecting time. Results: The PTW diode E and Edge detector exhibit centering stability, but all detectors require vertical shifts from Vendor defined vertical alignment. Output factor measurements reveal good agreement between detectors. The Edge detector demonstrates the sharpest penumbra and the closest consistent match to ion chamber measurements in the out of field regions for 6MV (3.2%). Each detector provides comparable curve quality for PDDs, with a maximum difference across detectors giving a standard deviation of 0.6% at 30cm depth, 18X, and 10cmx0.5cm. Profiles match closely across all detectors, depths, energies, and field sizes. The microDiamond detector produces the largest penumbra width, largest deviation from ion chamber dose in the tail region for 6MV, and exhibits centering instability. Conclusion: Based on our findings, the Edge detector was chosen for stereotactic measurements. The PTW diode E is an acceptable alternative.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2015

WE-AB-303-01: FEATURED PRESENTATION: A Dual-Detector Phase-Matched Digital Tomosynthesis (DTS) Imaging Scheme Using Aggregated KV and MV Projections for Intra-Treatment Lung Tumor Tracking

Purpose: To develop a dual-detector phase-matched DTS technique for continuous and fast intra-treatment lung tumor localization. Methods: Tumor localization accuracy of limited-angle DTS imaging is affected by low inter-slice resolution. The dual-detector DTS technique aims to overcome this limitation through combining orthogonally acquired beam’s eye view MV projections and kV projections for intra-treatment DTS reconstruction and localization. To aggregate the kV and MV projections for reconstruction, the MV projections were linearly converted to synthesize corresponding kV projections. To further address the lung motion induced localization errors, this technique uses respiratory phase-matching to match the motion information between on-board DTS and reference DTS to offset the adverse effects of motion blurriness in tumor localization.A study was performed using the CIRS008A lung phantom to simulate different on-board target variation scenarios for localization. The intra-treatment kV and MV acquisition was achieved through the Varian TrueBeam Developer Mode. Four methods were compared for their localization accuracy: 1. the proposed dual-detector phase-matched DTS technique; 2. the single-detector phase-matched DTS technique; 3. the dual-detector 3D-DTS technique without phase-matching; and 4. the single-detector 3D-DTS technique without phase-matching. Results: For scan angles of 2.5°, 5°, 10°, 20° and 30°, the dual-detector phase-matched DTS technique localized the tumor with average(±standard deviations) errors of 0.4±0.3 mm, 0.5±0.3 mm, 0.6±0.2 mm, 0.9±0.4 mm and 1.0±0.3 mm, respectively. The corresponding values of single-detector phase-matched DTS technique were 4.0±2.5 mm, 2.7±1.1 mm, 1.7±1.2 mm, 2.2±0.9 mm and 1.5±0.8 mm, respectively. The values of dual-detector 3D-DTS technique were 6.2±1.7 mm, 6.3±1.2 mm, 5.3±1.3 mm, 2.0±2.2 mm and 1.5±0.5 mm, respectively. And the values of single-detector 3D-DTS technique were 9.7±8.9 mm, 9.8±8.8 mm, 10.0±9.7 mm, 3.9±2.7 mm and 2.2±1.3 mm, respectively. Conclusion: The dual-detector phase-matched DTS technique substantially improves the tumor localization accuracy, which can be applied to real-time intra-treatment lung tumor localization. The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health Grant No. R01-CA184173 and a grant from Varian Medical Systems.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2016

An efficient computational approach to model statistical correlations in photon counting x-ray detectors

Purpose: To introduce and evaluate an increment matrix approach (IMA) describing the signal statistics of energy-selective photon counting detectors including spatial–spectral correlations between energy bins of neighboring detector pixels. The importance of the occurring correlations for image-based material decomposition is studied. Methods: An IMA describing the counter increase patterns in a photon counting detector is proposed. This IMA has the potential to decrease the number of required random numbers compared to Monte Carlo simulations by pursuing an approach based on convolutions. To validate and demonstrate the IMA, an approximate semirealistic detector model is provided, simulating a photon counting detector in a simplified manner, e.g., by neglecting count rate-dependent effects. In this way, the spatial–spectral correlations on the detector level are obtained and fed into the IMA. The importance of these correlations in reconstructed energy bin images and the corresponding detector performance in image-based material decomposition is evaluated using a statistically optimal decomposition algorithm. Results: The results of IMA together with the semirealistic detector model were compared to other models and measurements using the spectral response and the energy bin sensitivity, finding a good agreement. Correlations between the different reconstructed energy bin images could be observed, and turned out to be of weak nature. These correlations were found to be not relevant in image-based material decomposition. An even simpler simulation procedure based on the energy bin sensitivity was tested instead and yielded similar results for the image-based material decomposition task, as long as the fact that one incident photon can increase multiple counters across neighboring detector pixels is taken into account. Conclusions: The IMA is computationally efficient as it required about 10{sup 2} random numbers per ray incident on a detector pixel instead of an estimated 10{sup 8} random numbers per ray as Monte Carlo approaches would need. The spatial–spectral correlations as described by IMA are not important for the studied image-based material decomposition task. Respecting the absolute photon counts and thus the multiple counter increases by a single x-ray photon, the same material decomposition performance could be obtained with a simpler detector description using the energy bin sensitivity.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2015

Active Well Counting Using New PSD Plastic Detectors

This report presents results and analysis from a series of proof-of-concept measurements to assess the suitability of segmented detectors constructed from Eljen EJ-299-34 PSD-plastic scintillator with pulse-shape discrimination capability for the purposes of quantifying uranium via active neutron coincidence counting. Present quantification of bulk uranium materials for international safeguards and domestic materials control and accounting relies on active neutron coincidence counting systems, such as the Active Well Coincidence Counter (AWCC) and the Uranium Neutron Coincidence Collar (UNCL), that use moderated He-3 proportional counters along with necessarily low-intensity 241Am(Li) neutron sources. Scintillation-based fast-neutron detectors are a potentially superior technology to the existing AWCC and UNCL designs due to their spectroscopic capability and their inherently short neutron coincidence times that largely eliminate random coincidences and enable interrogation by stronger sources. One of the past impediments to the investigation and adoption of scintillation counters for the purpose of quantifying bulk uranium was the commercial availability of scintillators having the necessary neutron-gamma pulse-shape discrimination properties only as flammable liquids. Recently, Eljen EJ-299-34 PSD-plastic scintillator became commercially available. The present work is the first assessment of an array of PSD-plastic detectors for the purposes of quantifying bulk uranium. The detector panel used in the present work was originally built as the focal plane for a fast-neutron imager, but it was repurposed for the present investigation by construction of a stand to support the inner well of an AWCC immediately in front of the detector panel. The detector panel and data acquisition of this system are particularly well suited for performing active-well fast-neutron counting of LEU and HEU samples because the active detector volume is solid, the 241Am(Li) interrogating neutrons are largely below the detector threshold, and the segmented construction of the detector modules allow for separation of true neutron-neutron coincidences from inter-detector scattering using the kinematics of neutron scattering. The results from a series of measurements of a suite of uranium standards are presented, and compared to measurements of the same standards and source configurations using the AWCC. Using these results, the performance of the segmented detectors reconfigured as a well counter is predicted and outperforms the AWCC.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

DOE OSTI2018

The Low-Mass Limit: Dark Matter Detectors with eV-Scale Energy Resolution

The SuperCDMS SNOLAB experiment will be a 20-kg scale Si and Ge direct dark matter detection experiment designed to probe down to 300 MeV in dark matter (DM) mass through DM-nucleus scattering and 500 keV in DM electron scattering. In order to reach these low masses with appreciable sensitivity to dark matter, it needs to achieve very low energy resolution ($\le 10$ ev) for nuclear recoils in both detector materials, which will be achieved using a new detector design and operating mode, CDMS HV. This detector is designed to operate at a bias of 100V to convert charges liberated in our detector targets to into phonon energy in order to resolve individual electron-hole pairs. This has never before been achieved in a kg-scale detector. In this thesis, I cover three elements of the design of the CDMS HV detectors. I discuss the detector physics controlling how charges and phonons are generated in our detector crystals, comparing theory to results of recent experiments carried out at Stanford. I move on to describe the operating principles of our phonon-mediated charge readout, as well as the design of the CDMS HV detector. I then describe the performance tests of early CDMS HV prototypes in conjunction with the SuperCDMS SNOLAB electronics, and discuss the path towards achieving single electron-hole pair resolving detectors at the kg-scale given the performance obtained thus far. As a result of these tests, we were able to refine our noise and sensor dynamics models, and develop new metrics for diagnosing non-ideal sources of noise to aid in reducing coupling of the external environment to our detectors. In order to study the microphysics of phonon and charge production in our target crystals, we fabricated a number of gram-scale devices with various sensor designs in order to separate sensor and environmental effects from intrinsic crystal properties. These devices provided the first successful demonstrating of using voltage to amplify charge energ y by production of phonons (the Neganov-Trofimov-Luke effect! ) in order to resolve electron-hole pairs, and opened up a new regime of dark matter and photon science at the gram-scale that we are just beginning to explore. A first dark matter search was carried out with one of these gram-scale devices, producing world-leading limits on electron-recoiling dark matter between 0.5 and 5 MeV in dark matter mass for multiple form factors. This device achieved a phonon resolution of 10~eV, allowing a single gram-day of exposure to rival kg-days of exposure in the competing liquid-noble based electron-recoil search.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗