48
An
Efficient and
Ms. Yanyun
Wang,
Dr. Hua Jiang,
Business Official, hjiang@bostonati.com
DOE Grant No.
DE-FG02-04ER83913
Amount: $749,823
Current scintillator materials do not fully satisfy the
requirements for high and intermediate energy particle/photon detection, needed
to support the monitoring and verification of the Nonproliferation of Nuclear
Weapons Treaty and other international arms control agreements. Due to intrinsic deficiencies in
scintillation properties or difficulties in materials fabrication, next
generation scintillators must have brighter scintillation, higher resolution,
faster response, larger detection area, and lower cost. This project will utilize a low cost,
comprehensive searching/screening method to develop a bright scintillator/bulk
material system with optimized doping concentration, low scattering induced
loss, and improved optical and scintillation characteristics. In Phase I, nanopowders of various
scintillator material systems were synthesized using sol-gel and
co-precipitation processes. Combinatorial studies of perovskite, garnet, and
other ceramic scintillator systems demonstrated satisfactory light emitting and
transmitting characteristics. Phase II will
optimize the excitation and emission characteristics of the scintillator in
order to maximize the performance at the lowest possible cost.
Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: A new generation of bright scintillation materials should greatly benefit DOE’s high energy missions, such as high energy particle detection (heavy ions, electrons, and nuclei) and intermediate energy phonon imaging (UV-radiation, X- and Gamma- rays, and Beta-particles). The technology also should find use in homeland security, nondestructive testing, and medical radiography applications.