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At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2023

Composition for detecting alpha particle radiation and methods of use

A capsule composition comprising: (a) a polyester shell having a thickness of no more than 20 microns, and (b) a solution containing a visual and/or olfactory indicator, wherein the solution is encapsulated by the polyester shell. Also described herein is a method for detecting alpha particle radiation, in which: (i) the capsule composition is placed in contact with an esterase in a location where the presence of alpha particle radiation is being determined; (ii) waiting a period of time for the esterase to degrade the polyester shells, wherein the period of time is insufficient for the esterase to cause leakage of the solution in the absence of alpha particle radiation but is sufficient for alpha particle radiation, if present, to cause leakage from the capsule composition; and (iii) observing whether leakage has occurred at the end of the period of time to determine whether alpha particle radiation is present.

McKnight, Timothy E.↗
DOE OSTI2011

Radon Diffusion Measurement in Polyethylene based on Alpha Detection

We present a method to measure the diffusion of Radon in solid materials based on the alpha decay of the radon daughter products. In contrast to usual diffusion measurements which detect the radon that penetrates a thin barrier, we let the radon diffuse into the material and then measure the alpha decays of the radon daughter products in the material. We applied this method to regular and ultra high molecular weight poly ethylene and find diffusion lengths of order of mm as expected. However, the preliminary analysis shows significant differences between two different approaches we have chosen. These differences may be explained by the different experimental conditions.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

Standoff alpha radiation detection via excited state absorption of air

A standoff alpha radiation detection technique based on the physical mechanism of excited state absorption of air molecules was explored and is presented in this paper. Instead of directly detecting the radiation via measuring the intensity of radiation induced air fluorescence, the radiation is detected via the excited state absorption of alpha radiation excited/ionized air molecules. Both theoretical analyses and experimental verifications were conducted. The experimental results confirmed that the radiation could be detected via excited state absorption of radiation excited/ionized air molecules at a 10 m standoff distance, which was consistent with the theoretical analyses.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Review of using gallium nitride for ionizing radiation detection

With the largest band gap energy of all commercial semiconductors, GaN has found wide application in the making of optoelectronic devices. It has also been used for photodetection such as solar blind imaging as well as ultraviolet and even X-ray detection. Unsurprisingly, the appreciable advantages of GaN over Si, amorphous silicon (a-Si:H), SiC, amorphous SiC (a-SiC), and GaAs, particularly for its radiation hardness, have drawn prompt attention from the physics, astronomy, and nuclear science and engineering communities alike, where semiconductors have traditionally been used for nuclear particle detection. Several investigations have established the usefulness of GaN for alpha detection, suggesting that when properly doped or coated with neutron sensitive materials, GaN could be turned into a neutron detection device. Work in this area is still early in its development, but GaN-based devices have already been shown to detect alpha particles, ultraviolet light, X-rays, electrons, and neutrons. Furthermore, the nuclear reaction presented by {sup 14}N(n,p){sup 14}C and various other threshold reactions indicates that GaN is intrinsically sensitive to neutrons. This review summarizes the state-of-the-art development of GaN detectors for detecting directly and indirectly ionizing radiation. Particular emphasis is given to GaN's radiation hardness under high-radiation fields.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2015

Detection of alpha particles using DNA/Al Schottky junctions

Deoxyribonucleic acid or DNA can be utilized in an organic-metallic rectifying structure to detect radiation, especially alpha particles. This has become much more important in recent years due to crucial environmental detection needs in both peace and war. In this work, we fabricated an aluminum (Al)/DNA/Al structure and generated current–voltage characteristics upon exposure to alpha radiation. Two models were utilized to investigate these current profiles; the standard conventional thermionic emission model and Cheung and Cheung's method. Using these models, the barrier height, Richardson constant, ideality factor and series resistance of the metal-DNA-metal structure were analyzed in real time. The barrier height, Φ value calculated using the conventional method for non-radiated structure was 0.7149 eV, increasing to 0.7367 eV after 4 min of radiation. Barrier height values were observed to increase after 20, 30 and 40 min of radiation, except for 6, 8, and 10 min, which registered a decrease of about 0.67 eV. This was in comparison using Cheung and Cheung's method, which registered 0.6983 eV and 0.7528 eV for the non-radiated and 2 min of radiation, respectively. The barrier height values, meanwhile, were observed to decrease after 4 (0.61 eV) to 40 min (0.6945 eV). The study shows that conventional thermionic emission model could be practically utilized for estimating the diode parameters including the effect of series resistance. These changes in the electronic properties of the Al/DNA/Al junctions could therefore be utilized in the manufacture of sensitive alpha particle sensors.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2013

SiC Schottky Diode Detectors for Measurement of Actinide Concentrations from Alpha Activities in Molten Salt Electrolyte

In this project, we have designed a 4H-SiC Schottky diode detector device in order to monitor actinide concentrations in extreme environments, such as present in pyroprocessing of spent fuel. For the first time, we have demonstrated high temperature operation of such a device up to 500 °C in successfully detecting alpha particles. We have used Am-241 as an alpha source for our laboratory experiments. Along with the experiments, we have developed a multiscale model to study the phenomena controlling the device behavior and to be able to predict the device performance. Our multiscale model consists of ab initio modeling to understand defect energetics and their effect on electronic structure and carrier mobility in the material. Further, we have developed the basis for a damage evolution model incorporating the outputs from ab initio model in order to predict respective defect concentrations in the device material. Finally, a fully equipped TCAD-based device model has been developed to study the phenomena controlling the device behavior. Using this model, we have proven our concept that the detector is capable of performing alpha detection in a salt bath with the mixtures of actinides present in a pyroprocessing environment.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2013

Alpha Coincidence Detection for the Assay of Actinides

Abstract – Interferences in both decay counting and mass counting techniques limit their application for some environmental monitoring applications. For example, 238U interferes with 238Pu in mass spectrometry measurements, while in conventional alpha spectroscopy measurements it is nearly impossible to separate 238Pu from 241Am and 239Pu from 240Pu. These interferences are typically resolved by using chemical separation and/or different measurement techniques for different isotopes. We are investigating radiation detector concepts to simultaneously assay these four isotopes with minimal sample preparation by exploiting radiation signatures measured in coincidence with the typical alpha decays of these isotopes. Particles in coincidence with the alpha decay include conversion electrons, gamma rays, x-rays, and Auger electrons. Each decay has a unique energy distribution enabling the separation of the isotopes. We are exploring two basic detector concepts to achieve these goals: a silicon-based design and a gas-detector design. The silicon system provides the potential for higher energy resolution at the cost of lower efficiency compared to a gas detector. In this paper, we will describe our evaluation of the different detector concepts, which will include detection efficiency, ability to resolve the isotopes, sample preparation and equipment requirements.

Warren, Glen A.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Demonstrating the β-Ga 2 O 3 Schottky diodes for alpha radiation detection

Schottky barrier diodes were fabricated on (001) monoclinic β-Ga 2 O 3 wafers with low doped epitaxial layers of 7.0 × 10 15 cm −3 . Circular Ni Schottky contacts with area 2 mm 2 were deposited by electron beam evaporation. Devices were characterized electrically by performing forward and reverse current-voltage sweeps with a range of −100 V–2 V, as well as capacitance-voltage sweeps to −30 V. The breakdown voltage was also determined to be −180 V for the devices. Experiments measuring the electrical response from incident X-ray radiation was performed. A response time to X-ray radiation of less than 1 s was recorded and a decay time of approximately 2 s after removing X-ray source, which primarily attribute to X-ray switching on and off time. Energy spectra of alpha particles from a 0.9 μCi 241 Am button source was collected at various voltage biases using devices with the lowest measured leakage current while reverse biased. The total count rate was observed to increase linearly with increasing device bias. In conclusion, the peak channel number was observed to increase with increasing bias with the best resolution of 9.5% at −100 V reverse bias.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2015

Concepts for Alpha Coincidence Detection

The effectiveness of conventional measurement techniques for environmental monitoring is limited by background and other interferences. We are exploring a new measurement approach involving the detection of α particles in coincidence with conversion electrons as a means to simultaneously assay environmental samples for actinides without chemical separation. The initial target isotopes studied in this work are 238Pu, 239Pu, 240Pu and 241Am. We explore various aspects of the design, such as impact of the mounting of the source material, resolution requirements and impact of a background on isotopic uncertainties. We conclude that a dual gas proportional counter and a dual-sided, large-area silicon detector could provide similar performance for the measurement scenario examined.

Warren, Glen A.↗