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Vapor-Phase-Gating-Induced Ultrasensitive Ion Detection in Graphene and Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Networks

Designing ultrasensitive detectors often requires complex architectures, high-voltage operations, and sophisticated low-noise measurements. Here, it is shown that simple low-bias two-terminal DC-conductance values of graphene and single-walled carbon nanotubes are extremely sensitive to ionized gas molecules. Incident ions form an electrode-free, dielectric- or electrolyte-free, bias-free vapor-phase top-gate that can efficiently modulate carrier densities up to ≈0.6 × 10 13 cm -2 . Surprisingly, the resulting current changes are several orders of magnitude larger than that expected from conventional electrostatic gating, suggesting the possible role of a current-gain inducing mechanism similar to those seen in photodetectors. These miniature detectors demonstrate charge–current amplification factor values exceeding 10 8 A C -1 in vacuum with undiminished responses in open air, and clearly distinguish between positive and negative ions sources. At extremely low rates of ion incidence, detector currents show stepwise changes with time, and calculations suggest that these stepwise changes can result from arrival of individual ions. Lastly, these sensitive ion detectors are used to demonstrate a proof-of-concept low-cost, amplifier-free, light-emitting-diode-based low-power ion-indicator.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Geometric correction process for the Landsat-4 Thematic Mapper

The processing approaches which form the basis of the Landsat-4 Thematic Mapper (TM) geometric correction system are summarized. The correction is accomplished in two phases. In the first phase, correction data are generated. The spacecraft position, TM frame attitude, TM scanning mirror position, and detector sampling are found as a function of time through a combination of flight segment measurements, ground segment modeling, and control point information. The data, along with the earth position and geoid model, are used to determine the earth location for each TM image sample. Then, using map projections, correction data can be generated which define the location of each TM image sample on the output coordinate system. In the second phase, the correction data are used to resample TM detector samples onto the output coordinate system.

Beyer, E. P.↗

Interactions between myocardial sympathetic denervation and left ventricular mechanical dyssynchrony: A CZT analysis

Background: A correlation between left ventricular (LV) dyssynchrony (LVD) and impaired myocardial sympathetic tone has been hypothesized. We sought to assess the interactions between regional LV sympathetic innervation, perfusion, and mechanical dyssynchrony. Methods: Eighty-three patients underwent evaluation of LV perfusion and sympathetic innervation on {sup 99m}Tc-tetrofosmin/{sup 123}I-metaiodobenzylguanidine ({sup 123}I-MIBG) imaging. The summed rest score and summed {sup 123}I-MIBG score (SS-MIBG) were computed. The extent of “innervation/perfusion” mismatch was defined as the number of denervated LV segments with relatively preserved perfusion. LVD was evaluated on phase analysis and the wall with latest mechanical activation identified. Results: LVD was revealed in 36 (43%) patients. Patients with LVD had more abnormal values of SRS (21 ± 9 vs 10 ± 8, P < 0.001) and SS-MIBG (29 ± 9 vs 17 ± 11, P < 0.001) than those without LVD. The presence of LVD also clustered with a higher burden of “innervation/perfusion” mismatch (P = 0.019). On per-wall analysis, LV walls with delayed mechanical activation showed a higher burden of “innervation/perfusion” mismatch (2.3 ± 1.4 segments) than normally contracting walls (1.3 ± 1.2 segments; P < 0.001). On multivariate analysis, the extent of “innervation/perfusion” mismatch was the only predictor of delayed mechanical activation (P = 0.029). Conclusions: Patients with LVD show an elevated burden of “innervation/perfusion” mismatch that is concentrated at the level of the most dyssynchronous walls.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗

The ProtoDUNE-SP LArTPC electronics production, commissioning, and performance

The ProtoDUNE-SP detector is a large-scale prototype of the Single-Phase (SP) Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber (LArTPC) design proposed for the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE). 15,360 LArTPC wires are instrumented with low electronic noise pre-amplifier and digitization ASICs integrated into Front End Motherboards (FEMBs) operating at cryogenic temperature within the cryostat. The large number of electronics channels and high performance specifications required a large-scale production electronics quality control effort, careful installation into Anode Plane Assemblies (APAs), and rigorous detector commissioning. This successful collaboration-wide effort achieved a working LArTPC electronics channel percentage of 99.7% (15,318 of 15,360 channels in total), whose operating performance exceeded expectations. We summarize the ProtoDUNE-SP cold electronics design and quality control, installation, and commissioning efforts that enabled this excellent electronics performance.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Measurement of Kinetic Parameters by Oscillated Experiments

The availability of reliable values of the kinetic parameters (effective delayed neutron fraction {beta} and effective mean neutron generation time {Lambda}) is important for reactor kinetic analyses and for reactivity monitoring when adopting the point kinetic approach. The kinetic parameters may be obtained either by simulations (Monte Carlo or deterministic) of the system or by direct measurements. Several methods have been proposed for the direct experimental determination of the kinetic parameters, e.g. control rod drops and noise analysis approaches, e.g. In this work, the problem of the determination of kinetic parameters in subcritical systems is tackled. The system is subjected to an oscillated source and the value of the ratio {beta}/{Lambda} is related to a measurable quantity when the system response reaches an equilibrium condition. In the analysis presented, a pure frequency is considered: when analyzing more complicated source periodic behaviours, a Fourier analysis can allow to isolate the contributions of individual frequencies. The phase difference between the oscillating source and the system response is adopted as the experimental observable. The method for the interpretation of the measurements is based on the standard point kinetic model. The response of the system is obtained by localized neutron detectors and, therefore, spatial and spectral effects may also affect the results. This drawback needs some further discussion and will be considered in the future work. The phase shift between the source signal and the system response may be analytically retrieved by Laplace transforming the point kinetic equations in the presence of an oscillated source. An explicit formula relates the phase shift to the ratio {beta}/{Lambda} and to the frequency of the source. Based on this relationship, the ratio {beta}/{Lambda} can be determined. To validate the technique, the experimental data are simulated by a numerical code solving the time-dependent diffusion equations for a source-driven system. The work allows to assess the possibility of the technique and its limits of applicability. (authors)

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

Measurement of ambient radon progeny decay rates and energy spectra in liquid argon using the MicroBooNE detector

We report measurements of radon progeny in liquid argon within the MicroBooNE time projection chamber (LArTPC). The presence of specific radon daughters in MicroBooNE’s 85 metric tons of active liquid argon bulk is probed with newly developed charge-based low-energy reconstruction tools and analysis techniques to detect correlated Bi 214 − Po 214 radioactive decays. Special datasets taken during periods of active radon doping enable new demonstrations of the calorimetric capabilities of single-phase neutrino LArTPCs for β and α particles with electron-equivalent energies ranging from 0.1 to 3.0 MeV. By applying Bi 214 − Po 214 detection algorithms to data recorded over a 46-day period, no statistically significant presence of radioactive Bi 214 is detected, and a limit on the activity is placed at < 0.35 mBq / kg at the 95% confidence level. This bulk Bi 214 radiopurity limit—the first ever reported for a liquid argon detector incorporating liquid-phase purification—is then further discussed in relation to the targeted upper limit of 1 mBq / kg on bulk Rn 222 activity for the DUNE neutrino detector. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Building Towards Discovery: Preparing for New Physics at the LHC [Final papers]

Particle physics today is at a crossroads. The Standard Model (SM) has survived four decades of experimental scrutiny and spurred multiple landmark discoveries, culminating with the 2012 discovery of the Higgs boson at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Yet we know that this model is incomplete. We live in a universe dominated by matter and energy unaccounted for by the SM– and the Higgs boson itself is improbably light. It falls to the current generation of high-energy physicists to go beyond the model and enter a new era of discovery. Andeen is leading a new research group at the University of Texas at Austin (UT-Austin) that is endeavoring to reveal novel physical phenomena through the discovery of new particles with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. A key element of our experience thus far has been collaborating closely with theorists to identify both interesting new physics models. In addition we work closely with electrical engineers in detector development. Our approach is therefore unique in its integration of theory, analysis and instrumentation, and is encapsulated in a three-pronged strategy. First is the essential task of analyzing our rapidly expanding dataset. I am directing my group in searches for vector-like quarks (VLQs). Should they exist, these hypothetical particles would indicate physics scenarios beyond the SM. Experimental constraints suggest VLQs decay preferentially to a third generation quark and a Higgs, W or Z boson. Today at 13 TeV, both multi-lepton (electron and muon) and jet substructure signatures are sensitive to identifying the VLQ decay products. The large Run 2 dataset (collected through 2018) of up to 150 fb -1 will allow us to simultaneously use multi-lepton signatures with jet-substructure in searches for new physics. UT-Austin is well positioned to be a leader in this area. Prof. P. Onyisi’s postdoctoral researchers and graduate students are searching for ttH signatures in three- and four-lepton channels and we benefit from their experience. We are also aided by the availability of the Texas Advanced Computing Center, which provides us with easy access to several high performance computing (HPC) systems. My previous experience in VLQ searches propels the work today. I have published both the first investigation into the single production of top partners (signatures of composite Higgs Models) of any LHC experiment 1 as well as one of the first analyses utilizing jet-substructure techniques to search for the single production of vector-like quarks. 2 Adding to this is my group’s work with the Liquid Argon (LAr) calorimeter, the primary instrument we use in detecting electrons. Second, my group is contributing to the operations of the LAr calorimeter while preparing to install and commission new electronic hardware (the Phase 1 upgrade) to this crucial component of the ATLAS detector. I have played a leading role in the development of a critical, radiation-hard, high-speed Analog-to-Digital Convertor (ADC) that is essential inselecting data collected by the LAr calorimeter. 3 This upgrade will improve the e!ciency with which we can select events in our detector. Postdoctoral researcher N. Nikiforou (based at CERN May 2016 onward) and graduate students (one based at CERN from the start of 2018 onward, with one additional graduate students from summer 2018) are growing our already deep experience in the operation of the LAr calorimeter to prepare for installation and commissioning of the new trigger readout in 2018-2019. My group will then be positioned to be the first to exploit the potential of the improved triggers in our multi-lepton searches for new physics. Third, a suite of preparations for a major detector upgrade, scheduled to be completed in 2024, are underway. My group is building hardware that will improve the electronic readout of the ATLAS detector. I am partnering with a group in the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Department at UT-Austin (Prof. N. Sun) to employ his work at the cutting edge of ADC research. We will support an ECE grad student for the layout of this design, and collaborate with engineering groups at Nevis Laboratory and the Electrical Engineering Department (Prof. P. Kinget) at Columbia University to integrate our ADC with gain selection circuits. We will provide this critical component of the ASIC at the challenging boundary of the analog and digital signals in the LAr calorimeter readout chain. Furthermore UT-Austin will lead the testing of this device during development and production (approximately 55,000 four-channel chips). This effort compliments my work as the deliverables manager for the LAr front-end ASICs for the US ATLAS HL-LHC project and strengthens the US commitment to that upgrade.In so doing, my group at the UT-Austin will be at the forefront of efforts to probe the structure of the universe to an unmatched degree both at the current LHC and with its future upgrades. Through both the ongoing analysis of data at the ATLAS detector and improvements to the detector itself, an answer to what lies beyond the SM may come within our grasp. My background in instrumentation and analysis allows my group to establish a singular research effort on the ATLAS experiment. In addition to answering fundamental questions about the subatomic world, the technologies developed could advance the broader scientific community and result in valuable spin-offs.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Aqueous nitrite ion determination by selective reduction and gas phase nitric oxide chemiluminescence

An improved method of flow injection analysis for aqueous nitrite ion exploits the sensitivity and selectivity of the nitric oxide (NO) chemilluminescence detector. Trace analysis of nitrite ion in a small sample (5-160 microL) is accomplished by conversion of nitrite ion to NO by aqueous iodide in acid. The resulting NO is transported to the gas phase through a semipermeable membrane and subsequently detected by monitoring the photoemission of the reaction between NO and ozone (O3). Chemiluminescence detection is selective for measurement of NO, and, since the detection occurs in the gas-phase, neither sample coloration nor turbidity interfere. The detection limit for a 100-microL sample is 0.04 ppb of nitrite ion. The precision at the 10 ppb level is 2% relative standard deviation, and 60-180 samples can be analyzed per hour. Samples of human saliva and food extracts were analyzed; the results from a standard colorimetric measurement are compared with those from the new chemiluminescence method in order to further validate the latter method. A high degree of selectivity is obtained due to the three discriminating steps in the process: (1) the nitrite ion to NO conversion conditions are virtually specific for nitrite ion, (2) only volatile products of the conversion will be swept to the gas phase (avoiding turbidity or color in spectrophotometric methods), and (3) the NO chemiluminescence detector selectively detects the emission from the NO + O3 reaction. The method is free of interferences, offers detection limits of low parts per billion of nitrite ion, and allows the analysis of up to 180 microL-sized samples per hour, with little sample preparation and no chromatographic separation. Much smaller samples can be analyzed by this method than in previously reported batch analysis methods, which typically require 5 mL or more of sample and often need chromatographic separations as well.

NASA Discipline Environmental Health↗

Precision Timing with the CMS MIP Timing Detector

The Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is undergoing an extensive Phase II upgrade program to prepare for the challenging conditions of the High Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC). A new timing layer is designed to measure minimum ionizing particles (MIPs) with a time resolution of 30 ps and hermetic coverage up to a pseudo-rapidity of |η|=3. This MIP Timing Detector (MTD) will consist of a central barrel region based on LYSO:Ce crystals read out with SiPMs and two end-caps instrumented with radiation-tolerant Low Gain Avalanche Detectors (LGADs). The precision time information from the MTD will reduce the effects of the high levels of pile-up expected at the HL-LHC and will bring new and unique capabilities to the CMS detector. The time information assigned to each track will enable the use of 4D-vertexing which will render a 5-fold pile-up reduction thus recovering the current conditions. Precision timing will also enable new time-based isolations and improved b-tagging algorithms. All of this translates into a 20% gain in effective luminosity when looking at di-Higgs boson events decaying to a pair of b-quarks and two photons. We present the current status and ongoing R&D of the MTD, including implications on the physics reach at the HL-LHC and test beam results.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Experimental Validation of Pulse Phase Tracking for X-Ray Pulsar Based

Pulsars are a form of variable celestial source that have shown to be usable as aids for autonomous, deep space navigation. Particularly those sources emitting in the X-ray band are ideal for navigation due to smaller detector sizes. In this paper X-ray photons arriving from a pulsar are modeled as a non-homogeneous Poisson process. The method of pulse phase tracking is then investigated as a technique to measure the radial distance traveled by a spacecraft over an observation interval. A maximum-likelihood phase estimator (MLE) is used for the case where the observed frequency signal is constant. For the varying signal frequency case, an algorithm is used in which the observation window is broken up into smaller blocks over which an MLE is used. The outputs of this phase estimation process were then looped through a digital phase-locked loop (DPLL) in order to reduce the errors and produce estimates of the doppler frequency. These phase tracking algorithms were tested both in a computer simulation environment and using the NASA Goddard Space flight Center X-ray Navigation Laboratory Testbed (GXLT). This provided an experimental validation with photons being emitted by a modulated X-ray source and detected by a silicon-drift detector. Models of the Crab pulsar and the pulsar B1821-24 were used in order to generate test scenarios. Three different simulated detector trajectories were used to be tracked by the phase tracking algorithm: a stationary case, one with constant velocity, and one with constant acceleration. All three were performed in one-dimension along the line of sight to the pulsar. The first two had a constant signal frequency and the third had a time varying frequency. All of the constant frequency cases were processed using the MLE, and it was shown that they tracked the initial phase within 0.15% for the simulations and 2.5% in the experiments, based on an average of ten runs. The MLE-DPLL cascade version of the phase tracking algorithm was used in the varying frequency case. This resulted in tracking of the phase and frequency by the DPLL outputs in both the simulation and experimental environments. The crab pulsar was experimentally tested with a trajectory with a higher acceleration. In this case the phase error tended toward zero as the observation extended to 250 seconds and the doppler frequency error tended to zero in under 100 seconds.

Experimental↗

The infrared spectrograph during the SIRTF pre-definition phase

A test facility was set up to evaluate back-illuminated impurity band detectors constructed for an infrared spectrograph to be used on the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF). Equipment built to perform the tests on these arrays is described. Initial tests have been geared toward determining dark current and read noise for the array. Four prior progress reports are incorporated into this report. They describe the first efforts in the detector development and testing effort; testing details and a new spectrograph concept; a discussion of resolution issues raised by the new design; management activities; a review of computer software and testing facility hardware; and a review of the preamplifier constructed as well as a revised schematic of the detector evaluation facility.

Houck, James R.↗

Diagnosis of ULF Wave-Particle Interactions With Megaelectron Volt Electrons: The Importance of Ultrahigh-Resolution Energy Channels

Electron flux measurements are an important diagnostic for interactions between ultralow-frequency (ULF) waves and relativistic (~1 MeV) electrons. Since measurements are collected by particle detectors with finite energy channel width, they are affected by a phase mixing process that can obscure these interactions. In this paper, we demonstrate that ultrahigh-resolution electron measurements from the Magnetic Electron Ion Spectrometer on the Van Allen Probes mission—obtained using a data product that improves the energy resolution by roughly an order of magnitude—are crucial for understanding ULF wave-particle interactions. In particular, the ultrahigh-resolution measurements reveal a range of complex dynamics that cannot be resolved by standard measurements. Furthermore, the standard measurements provide estimates for the ULF flux modulation amplitude, period, and phase that may not be representative of true flux modulations, potentially leading to ambiguous conclusions concerning electron dynamics.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Simulations and Data analysis for the 35 ton Liquid Argon detector as a prototype for the DUNE experiment

The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) is a next-generation neutrino experiment which will be built at the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF), and will receive a wide-band neutrino beam from Fermilab, 1300~km away. At this baseline DUNE will be able to study many of the properties of neutrino mixing, including the neutrino mass hierarchy and the value of the CP-violating complex phase ($\delta_{CP}$). DUNE will utilise Liquid Argon (LAr) Time Projection Chamber (TPC) (LArTPC) technology, and the Far Detector (FD) will consist of four modules, each containing 17.1~kt of LAr with a fiducial mass of around 10~kt. Each of these FD modules represents around an order of magnitude increase in size, when compared to existing LArTPC experiments. \\ The 35 ton detector is the first DUNE prototype for the single (LAr) phase design of the FD. There were two running periods, one from November 2013 to February 2014, and a second from November 2015 to March 2016. During t he second running period, a system of TPCs was installed, and cosmic-ray data were collected. A method of particle identification was developed using simulations, though this was not applied to the data due to the higher than expected noise level. A new method of determining the interaction time of a track, using the effects of longitudinal diffusion, was developed using the cosmic-ray data. A camera system was also installed in the detector for monitoring purposes, and to look for high voltage breakdowns. \\ Simulations concerning the muon-induced background rate to nucleon decay are performed, following the incorporation of the MUon Simulations UNderground (MUSUN) generator into the DUNE software framework. A series of cuts which are based on Monte Carlo truth information is developed, designed to reject simulated background events, whilst preserving simulated signal events in the $n \rightarrow K^{+} + e^{-}$ decay channel. No background events are seen to survive the app lication of these cuts in a sample of 2~$\times$~10$^9$ muon! s, representing 401.6~years of detector live time. This corresponds to an annual background rate of <~0.44~events$\cdot$Mt$^{-1}\cdot$year$^{-1}$ at 90\% confidence, using a fiducial mass of 13.8~kt.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

New opportunities at the next-generation neutrino experiments I: BSM neutrino physics and dark matter

The combination of the high intensity proton beam facilities and massive detectors for precision measurements of neutrino oscillation parameters including the charge-parity violating (CPV) phase will open the door to help make beyond the standard model (BSM) physics reachable even in low energy regimes in the accelerator-based experiments. Large-mass detectors with highly precise tracking and energy measurements, excellent timing resolution, and low energy thresholds will enable the searches for BSM phenomena from cosmogenic origin, as well. Therefore, it is also conceivable that BSM topics in the next-generation neutrino experiments could be the dominant physics topics in the foreseeable future, as the precision of the neutrino oscillation parameter and CPV measurements continue to improve. This paper reviews the current landscape of BSM theory in neutrino experiments in two selected areas of the BSM topics-dark matter and neutrino related BSM-and summarizes the current results from existing neutrino experiments to set benchmarks for both theory and experiment. This paper then provides a review of upcoming neutrino experiments throughout the next 10 to 15 year time scale and their capabilities to set the foundation for potential reach in BSM physics in the two aforementioned themes. An important outcome of this paper is to ensure theoretical and simulation tools exist to carry out studies of these new areas of physics, from the first day of the experiments, such as Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment in the U.S. and Hyper-Kamiokande Experiment in Japan.

dark sector↗

Recent results from the Majorana Demonstrator

The MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR is an experiment constructed to search for Neutrinoless double-beta decay in 76Ge and to demonstrate the feasibility to deploy a large-scale experiment in a phased and modular fashion. It consists of two modular arrays of natural and 76Ge-enriched germanium detectors totalling 44.1 kg, operating on the 4850’ level of the Sanford Underground Research Facility in Lead, South Dakota, USA. Data acquisition in the commissioning phase began in June 2015, followed by data acquisition with the full detector array in August 2016. The ultralow background and record energy resolution achieved by the MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR enable a sensitive neutrinoless double-beta decay search, as well as additional searches for physics beyond the Standard Model. I will discuss the design elements that enable these searches, along with our latest results, focusing on the neutrinoless double-beta decay search. I will also discuss the current status and the future plans of the MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR, as well as the plans for a future tonne-scale 76Ge experiment.

Myslik, Jordan W.↗

Continuous variable quantum secret sharing

Continuous variable quantum secret sharing (CV-QSS) technologies are described that use laser sources and homodyne detectors. Here, a Gaussian-modulated coherent state (GMCS) prepared by one device passes through secure stations of other devices sequentially on its way to a trusted device, and each of the other devices coherently adds a locally prepared, independent GMCS to the group of propagating GMCSs. Finally, the trusted device measures both the amplitude and the phase quadratures of the received group of coherent GMCSs using double homodyne detectors. The trusted device suitably uses the measurement results to establish a secure key for encoding secret messages to be broadcast to the other devices. The devices cooperatively estimate, based on signals corresponding to their respective Gaussian modulations, the trusted device's secure key, so that the cooperative devices can decode the broadcast secret messages with the secure key.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

THERMAL EMISSIONS SPANNING THE PROMPT AND THE AFTERGLOW PHASES OF THE ULTRA-LONG GRB 130925A

GRB 130925A is an ultra-long gamma-ray burst (GRB), and it shows clear evidence for thermal emission in the soft X-ray data of the Swift/X-ray Telescope (XRT; ∼0.5 keV), lasting until the X-ray afterglow phase. Due to the long duration of the GRB, the burst could be studied in hard X-rays with high-resolution focusing detectors (NuSTAR). The blackbody temperature, as measured by the Swift/XRT, shows a decreasing trend until the late phase (Piro et al.) whereas the high-energy data reveal a significant blackbody component during the late epochs at an order of magnitude higher temperature (∼5 keV) compared to contemporaneous low energy data (Bellm et al.). We resolve this apparent contradiction by demonstrating that a model with two black bodies and a power law (2BBPL) is consistent with the data right from the late prompt emission to the afterglow phase. Both blackbodies show a similar cooling behavior up to late times. We invoke a structured jet, having a fast spine and a slower sheath layer, to identify the location of these blackbodies. Independent of the physical interpretation, we propose that the 2BBPL model is a generic feature of the prompt emission of all long GRBs, and the thermal emission found in the afterglow phase of different GRBs reflects the lingering thermal component of the prompt emission with different timescales. We strengthen this proposal by pointing out a close similarity between the spectral evolutions of this GRB and GRB 090618, a source with significant wide band data during the early afterglow phase.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Characterization of Dual-Band Infrared Detectors for Application to Remote Sensing

NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC), in partnership with the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), developed photovoltaic infrared (IR) detectors suitable at two different wavelengths using Sb-based material systems. Using lattice-matched InGaAsSb grown on GaSb substrates, dual wavelength detectors operating at 1.7 and 2.5 micron wavelengths can be realized. P-N junction diodes are fabricated on both GaSb and InGaAsSb materials. The photodiode on GaSb detects wavelengths at 1.7 micron and the InGaAsSb detector detects wavelengths at 2.2 micron or longer depending on the composition. The films for these devices are grown by metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE). The cross section of the independently accessed back-to-back photodiode dual band detector consists of a p-type substrate on which n-on-p GaInAsSb junction is grown, followed by a p-on-n GaSb junction. There are three ohmic contacts in this structure, one to the p-GaSb top layer, one to the n-GaSb/n-GaInAsSb layer and one to the p-type GaSb substrate. The common terminal is the contact to the n-GaSb/n-GaInAsSb layer. The contact to the n-GaSb/p-GaInAsSb region of the photodiode in the dual band is electrically connected and is accessed at the edge of the photodiode. NASA LaRC acquired the fabricated dual band detector from RPI and characterized the detector at its Detector Characterization Laboratory. Characterization results, such as responsivity, noise, quantum efficiency, and detectivity will be presented.

Abedin, M. Nurul↗