Novel Silica Aerogel Panels as Radiators for Cherenkov Detectors
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A photoconductive detector of circularly polarized radiation based on the metal–insulator–semiconductor structure of CoPt/(Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}/SiO{sub 2}/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3})/InGaAs/GaAs is created. The efficiency of detection of circularly polarized radiation is 0.75% at room temperature. The operation of the detector is based on the manifestation of the effect of magnetic circular dichroism in the CoPt layer, that is, the dependence of the CoPt transmission coefficient on the sign of the circular polarization of light and magnetization.
The Mars Observer Gamma-Ray Spectrometer (MO GRS) was designed to measure gamma-rays emitted by the Martian surface. This gamma-ray emission is induced by energetic cosmic-ray particles penetrating the Martian surface and producing many secondary particles and gamma rays. The MO GRS consisted of an high-purity germanium (HPGe) detector with a passive cooler. Since radiation damage due to permanent bombardment of energetic cosmic ray particles (with energies up to several GeV) was expected for the MO GRS HPGe crystal, studies on radiation damage effects of HPGe crystals were carried on earth. One of the HPGe crystals (paradoxically called FLIGHT) was similar to the MO GRS crystal. Both detectors, MO GRS and FLIGHT, contained closed-end coaxial n-type HPGe crystals and had the same geometrical dimensions (5.6 x 5.6 cm). Many other parameters, such as HV and operation temperature, differed in space and on earth, which made it somewhat difficult to directly compare the performance of both detector systems. But among other detectors, detector FLIGHT provided many useful data to better understand radiation damage effects.
A new class of high detectivity pyroelectric detectors developed for optimization of the radiation measurement system within the framework of the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement program is described. These devices are intended to provide detectivities of up to about 10 exp 11 cm Hz exp 0.5/W with cooling to about 100 K required for the detector focal plane.
Radiation portal monitors used for interdiction of illicit materials at borders include highly sensitive neutron detection systems. The main reason for having neutron detection capability is to detect fission neutrons from plutonium. The currently deployed radiation portal monitors (RPMs) from Ludlum and Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) use neutron detectors based upon 3He-filled gas proportional counters, which are the most common large neutron detector. There is a declining supply of 3He in the world, and thus, methods to reduce the use of this gas in RPMs with minimal changes to the current system designs and sensitivity to cargo-borne neutrons are being investigated. Four technologies have been identified as being currently commercially available, potential alternative neutron detectors to replace the use of 3He in RPMs. Reported here are the results of tests of a boron-lined proportional counter design variation. In the testing described here, the neutron detection efficiency and gamma ray rejection capabilities of a system manufactured by Proportional Technologies, Inc, was tested.
The construction of the KGK-2-type detector of γ-radiation power is briefly described. The diagnostic possibilities of the detector are shown by the example of results of the dose rate measurement in the energy start-ups of the BR-K1 and BR-1M reactors implemented in the mode of generating fission pulses on delayed neutrons. The possibilities of using the KGK-2 detector for postpulse γ diagnostics are demonstrated by the example of results of measurements in the fission pulse on prompt neutrons of the BR-1M reactor.
Here, this paper describes the synthesis, crystal growth, detector fabrication, radiation hardening studies, MCNP modeling, and characterization of lithium indium diselenide or LiInSe 2 . This newly-developed room temperature thermal neutron detector has semiconducting and scintillating properties and it is suitable for neutron detection application. LiInSe 2 was synthesized starting from elemental Li, In, Se in two steps due to high reactivity of Li. A single crystal of LiInSe 2 was grown using the Vertical Bridgman method. The room temperature band gap was found to be 2.8 eV using optical absorption measurements. Bulk resistivity was measured at ∼5 × 10 11 Ωcm. Photoconductivity measurements of LiInSe 2 wafers identified a peak in the photocurrent around 445 nm. Nuclear radiation detectors were fabricated from single crystal wafer and the responses to alpha particles at various biases were measured. The mobility-lifetime product was estimated. Gamma irradiation studies were performed with calculated absorbed doses ranging from 0.2126 to 21,262 Gy. The characterization of the two wafers for their scintillator performance was conducted after each irradiation. The gamma irradiation produced a reduction of the light yield that translated to a lower channel number for the centroid of alpha detection spectra. It also showed a considerable reduction of the decay time after the first irradiation. These are the first studies on gamma radiation hardening with this material.
WASA--a 4{pi} spectrometer for detection of charged and neutral particles--started operation at the cooler synchrotron COSY-Juelich in 2007. A number of experiments on meson production and decays have been carried out since then. The status of the analysis and preliminary results of some selected topics from the physics program are discussed.
Researchers describe the most important radiation response issues for infrared detectors. In general, the two key degradation mechanisms in infrared detectors are the noise produced by exposure to a flux of ionizing particles (e.g.; trapped electronics and protons, debris gammas and electrons, radioactive decay of neutron-activated materials) and permanent damage produced by exposure to total dose. Total-dose-induced damage is most often the result of charge trapping in insulators or at interfaces. Exposure to short pulses of ionization (e.g.; prompt x rays or gammas, delayed gammas) will cause detector upset. However, this upset is not important to a sensor unless the recovery time is too long. A few detector technologies are vulnerable to neutron-induced displacement damage, but fortunately most are not. Researchers compare the responses of the new technologies with those of the mainstream technologies of PV HgCdTe and IBC Si:As. One important reason for this comparison is to note where some of the newer technologies have the potential to provide significantly improved radiation hardness compared with that of the mainstream technologies, and thus to provide greater motivation for the pursuit of these technologies.
We present the results of a detailed experimental study of polarization effects in thallium bromide planar x-ray detectors. Measurements were carried out in the range 10-100 keV by scanning a highly focused x-ray beam, 50 {mu}m in diameter, from a synchrotron source across the detector. Above a certain radiation threshold the detector response showed a systematic degradation of its spectroscopic characteristics, peak channel position, peak height, and energy resolution. Using a pump-and-probe technique, we studied the dynamics of spectral degradation, the spatial extent and relaxation of the polarized region, and the dependence of the detector response on bias voltage and temperature. For comparison, we modeled polarization effects induced by the charging of traps by both electrons and holes using a model based on recent theoretical work of Bale and Szeles. We calculated the charge collection efficiency and spectral line shapes as functions of exposure time, beam position, count rate, and photon energy, and obtained credible agreement with experimental results.
The International Space Station (ISS) Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD) is an intravehicular energetic particle detector designed to measure a broad spectrum of charged particle and neutron radiation unique to the ISS radiation environment. In this presentation, a summary of calibration and readiness of the RAD Sensor Head (RSH) - also referred to as the Charged Particle Detector (CPD) - for ISS will be presented. Calibration for the RSH consists of p, He, C, O, Si, and Fe ion data collected at the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory (NSRL) and Indiana University Cyclotron Facility (IUCF). The RSH consists of four detectors used in measuring the spectroscopy of charged particles - A, B, C, and D; high-energy neutral particles and charged particles are measured in E; and the last detector - F - is an anti-coincidence detector. A, B, and C are made from Si; D is made from BGO; E and F are made from EJ260XL plastic scintillator.
The EURITRACK portal makes use of the tagged neutron technique to inspect suspect regions of cargo containers identified in preliminary x-ray inspections. The portal has been in operation at the Rijeka seaport during the last three years. The performances of sub-systems, with particular interest on the sealed tube neutron generator, is presented.
Broadband power detector assembly measures electromagnetic radiation in the 50 to 30,000 GHz band. The assembly includes a matched pair of detectors which incorporate thin-film radiation absorbers. The detector is effective with either coherent or incoherent radiation.
Temperature dependence of lithium-drifted germanium detector response to gamma radiation
The development in semiconductor CMOS technology has enabled the creation of sensitive detectors for a wide range of ionizing radiation. These devices are suitable for photon counting and can be used in imaging and tomography X-ray diagnostics. The Medipix[1] radiation detection system is a hybrid silicon pixel chip developed for particle tracking applications in High Energy Physics. Its exceptional features (high spatial and energy resolution, embedded ultra fast readout, different operation modes, etc.) make the Medipix an attractive device for applications in medical imaging. In this work the energy characterization of a third-generation Medipix chip (Medipix3) coupled to a silicon sensor is presented. We used different radiation sources (strontium 90, iron 55 and americium 241) to obtain the response curve of the hybrid detector as a function of energy. We also studied the contrast of the Medipix as a measure of pixel noise. Finally we studied the response to fluorescence X rays from different target materials (In, Pd and Cd) for the two data acquisition modes of the chip; single pixel mode and charge summing mode.
A new facility for Non-Destructive Assay based on a time-tagged {sup 252}Cf spontaneous fission source is now in operation at the Padova University. The system is designed to analyze samples with dimensions on the order of 20x20 cm{sup 2}, the material recognition being obtained by measuring simultaneously transmission of neutrons and gamma rays as a function of energy.
The linear polarization of bremsstrahlung radiation emitted in collisions of spin-polarized and unpolarized electrons with carbon and gold targets has been measured for an incident kinetic energy of 100 keV. We present preliminary results for the degree of linear polarization for incident unpolarized electrons as a function of bremsstrahlung photon energy.
There is much interest in developing new scintillator detectors for radiation detection and radiographic imaging applications. The knowledge of the electron mobility ({mu}) is important in the basic understanding of charge transport and in the selection and optimization of many inorganic scintillator materials such as thallium-doped cesium iodide, CsI(Tl). Performance measures are used to model various scintillator responses in an effort to predict the effect of doping concentrations. Performance models will help in the new scintillator design process. Initial tests are done with cadmium zinc telluride detectors to establish measurement techniques and baselines.