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Novel Scintillator
for Nuclear
Dr. Michael R. Squillante,
Dr. Gerald Entine, Business
Official, gentine@rmdinc.com
DOE Grant No. DE-FG02-04ER84052
Amount: $700,000
Inorganic scintillation
crystals are a very important element of current and next generation
experiments in. Scintillators are the
most common detectors used In nuclear and particle physics experiments, the
perfomance of the detection systems is often limited by the properties of the
scintillators that are available for gamma-ray and neutron detection. This project will investigate a new
scintillator that offers improved perfomance for the detection of gamma-rays
and neutrons: good energy resolution and
excellent timing resolution for gamma-rays, excellent light yield for neutrons.
In addition, the new scintillator will
allow discrimination between gamma and neutron events, on the basis of pulse
shape and pulse height. In Phase,
crystals of the new scintillator were grown, and its performance for gamma-ray
and neutron detection was determined. In
Phase II, large crystals of the scintillator will be grown, an extensive
characterization of their properties for detecting neutrons (both thermal and
fast) and gamma-rays will be conducted, and the new scintilltor will be
optimized for gamma-ray and neutron detection.
Commercial Applications And Other Benefits as described by the awardee: The proposed detector technology should be very promising for nuclear and particle physics experiments. It should also be useful in nuclear waste characterization, astronomy, homeland security, and bore hole logging.