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Dynamic Electrothermal Model of a Sputtered Thermopile Thermal Radiation Detector for Earth Radiation Budget Applications

The Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) is a program sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) aimed at evaluating the global energy balance. Current scanning radiometers used for CERES consist of thin-film thermistor bolometers viewing the Earth through a Cassegrain telescope. The Thermal Radiation Group, a laboratory in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, is currently studying a new sensor concept to replace the current bolometer: a thermopile thermal radiation detector. This next-generation detector would consist of a thermal sensor array made of thermocouple junction pairs, or thermopiles. The objective of the current research is to perform a thermal analysis of the thermopile. Numerical thermal models are particularly suited to solve problems for which temperature is the dominant mechanism of the operation of the device (through the thermoelectric effect), as well as for complex geometries composed of numerous different materials. Feasibility and design specifications are studied by developing a dynamic electrothermal model of the thermopile using the finite element method. A commercial finite element-modeling package, ALGOR, is used.

Weckmann, Stephanie

Trapped radiation detectors.

Trapped radiation detector designed and fabricated by Van Allen for measurement of Martian radiation belts

MARS ENVIRONMENT

Trapped-radiation detectors

Trapped radiation detectors for use on Mariner IV to measure radiation belts in vicinity of Mars and remeasure Van Allen belts and interplanetary cosmic rays

MARINER IV SPACE PROBE

Recent progress in the development of transition radiation detectors

Transition-radiation detectors have been used in several recent cosmic-ray experiments for particle identification at energies E/mc-squared of at least about 1000. In order to optimize the design of such detectors and to use them for energy measurements over a broad energy range, it is necessary to study the details of the transition-radiation process. Experimental results are presented which test the theoretical predictions more precisely and at higher energies than in previous experiments. The dependence of the interference pattern in the frequency spectrum on the radiator dimensions is studied, and the total transition-radiation yield generated by electrons in various radiators is measured over a very wide energy range, from 5 to 300 GeV. The significance of the individual experimental parameters in the design of transition radiation detectors is reviewed, and the characteristics of transition-radiation detectors capable of measuring particle energies over the range E/mc-squared from about 300 to 100,000 are discussed.

Cherry, M. L.

Heat Transfer Issues in Thin-Film Thermal Radiation Detectors

The Thermal Radiation Group at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University has been working closely with scientists and engineers at NASA's Langley Research Center to develop accurate analytical and numerical models suitable for designing next generation thin-film thermal radiation detectors for earth radiation budget measurement applications. The current study provides an analytical model of the notional thermal radiation detector that takes into account thermal transport phenomena, such as the contact resistance between the layers of the detector, and is suitable for use in parameter estimation. It was found that the responsivity of the detector can increase significantly due to the presence of contact resistance between the layers of the detector. Also presented is the effect of doping the thermal impedance layer of the detector with conducting particles in order to electrically link the two junctions of the detector. It was found that the responsivity and the time response of the doped detector decrease significantly in this case. The corresponding decrease of the electrical resistance of the doped thermal impedance layer is not sufficient to significantly improve the electrical performance of the detector. Finally, the "roughness effect" is shown to be unable to explain the decrease in the thermal conductivity often reported for thin-film layers.

Barry, Mamadou Y.

Low-Power Multi-Aspect Space Radiation Detector System

The advanced space radiation detector development team at NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) has the goal of developing unique, more compact radiation detectors that provide improved real-time data on space radiation. The team has performed studies of different detector designs using a variety of combinations of solid-state detectors, which allow higher sensitivity to radiation in a smaller package and operate at lower voltage than traditional detectors. Integration of all of these detector technologies will result in an improved detector system in comparison to existing state-of-the-art (SOA) instruments for the detection and monitoring of the deep space radiation field.

Wrbanek, John D.

Advanced Space Radiation Detector Technology Development

The advanced space radiation detector development team at NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) has the goal of developing unique, more compact radiation detectors that provide improved real-time data on space radiation. The team has performed studies of different detector designs using a variety of combinations of solid-state detectors, which allow higher sensitivity to radiation in a smaller package and operate at lower voltage than traditional detectors. Integration of multiple solid-state detectors will result in an improved detector system in comparison to existing state-of-the-art instruments for the detection and monitoring of the space radiation field for deep space and aerospace applications.

Wrbanek, John D.

Advanced Space Radiation Detector Technology Development

The advanced space radiation detector development team at NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) has the goal of developing unique, more compact radiation detectors that provide improved real-time data on space radiation. The team has performed studies of different detector designs using a variety of combinations of solid-state detectors, which allow higher sensitivity to radiation in a smaller package and operate at lower voltage than traditional detectors. Integration of multiple solid-state detectors will result in an improved detector system in comparison to existing state-of-the-art (SOA) instruments for the detection and monitoring of the space radiation field for deep space and aerospace applications.

Wrbanek, John D.

Advanced Space Radiation Detector Technology Development

The advanced space radiation detector development team at the NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) has the goal of developing unique, more compact radiation detectors that provide improved real-time data on space radiation. The team has performed studies of different detector designs using a variety of combinations of solid-state detectors, which allow higher sensitivity to radiation in a smaller package and operate at lower voltage than traditional detectors. Integration of multiple solid-state detectors will result in an improved detector system in comparison to existing state-of-the-art instruments for the detection and monitoring of the space radiation field for deep space and aerospace applications.

Wrbanek, John D.

Assessment of the Influence of the RaD-X Balloon Payload on the Onboard Radiation Detectors

The NASA Radiation Dosimetry Experiment (RaD-X) stratospheric balloon flight mission, launched on 25 September 2015, provided dosimetric measurements above the Pfotzer maximum. The goal of taking these measurements is to improve aviation radiation models by providing a characterization of cosmic ray primaries, which are the source of radiation exposure at aviation altitudes. The RaD-X science payload consists of four instruments. The main science instrument is a tissue-equivalent proportional counter (TEPC). The other instruments consisted of three solid state silicon dosimeters: Liulin, Teledyne total ionizing dose (TID) and RaySure detectors. The instruments were housed in an aluminum structure protected by a foam cover. The structure partially shielded the detectors from cosmic rays but also created secondary particles, modifying the ambient radiation environment observed by the instruments. Therefore, it is necessary to account for the influence of the payload structure on the measured doses. In this paper, we present the results of modeling the effect of the balloon payload on the radiation detector measurements using a Geant-4 (GEometry ANd Tracking) application. Payload structure correction factors derived for the TEPC, Liulin, and TID instruments are provided as a function of altitude. Overall, the payload corrections are no more than a 7% effect on the radiation environment measurements.

Gronoff, Guilluame

Design of a transition radiation detector for cosmic rays

Transition radiation detectors consisting of sandwiches of plastic foam radiators and multiwire proportional chambers can be used to identify cosmic ray particles with energies gamma ? E/mc-squared is greater than 10 to the 3rd and to measure their energy in the region gamma is roughly equal to 10 to the 3rd

Hartmann, G.

A new transition radiation detector for cosmic ray nuclei

Test measurements on materials for transition radiation detectors at a low Lorentz factor are reported. The materials will be based on board Spacelab-2 for determining the composition and energy spectra of nuclear cosmic rays in the 1 TeV/nucleon range. The transition radiation detectors consist of a sandwich of radiator-photon detector combinations. The radiators emit X-rays and are composed of polyolefin fibers used with Xe filled multiwired proportional chamber (MWPC) detectors capable of detecting particle Lorentz factors of several hundred. The sizing of the detectors is outlined, noting the requirement of a thickness which provides a maximum ratio of transition radiation to total signal in the chambers. The fiber radiator-MWPC responses were tested at Fermilab and in an electron cyclotron. An increase in transition radiation detection was found as a square power law of Z, and the use of six radiator-MWPC on board the Spacelab-2 is outlined.

Lheureux, J.