IGF::OT::IGF GAMMA-RAY AND NEUTRON SPECTROSCOPY ARE WELL ESTABLISHED TECHNIQUES FOR DETERMINING THE CHEMICA…

Public award description

IGF::OT::IGF GAMMA-RAY AND NEUTRON SPECTROSCOPY ARE WELL ESTABLISHED TECHNIQUES FOR DETERMINING THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF PLANETARY SURFACES, AND SMALL COSMIC BODIES SUCH AS ASTEROIDS AND COMETS; HOWEVER, NEW TECHNOLOGIES WITH THE POTENTIAL TO SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVE THE PERFORMANCE OF PLANETARY NUCLEAR SPECTROSCOPY ARE EMERGING. WE PROPOSE TO DEVELOP NEW GAMMA-RAY AND NEUTRON DETECTORS BASED ON WIDE-BAND-GAP (WBG) SOLID-STATE PHOTOMULTIPLIER (SSPM) PHOTODETECTORS COUPLED TO EMERGING SCINTILLATION MATERIALS SUCH AS CS2YLICL6:CE (CLYC), AND CEBR3 FOR GAMMA AND NEUTRON SPECTROSCOPIC STUDIES OF PLANET SURFACES AND SMALL COSMIC BODIES. THE PROPOSED SSPM PHOTODETECTOR FOR SCINTILLATION READOUT IS BASED ON ALGAAS, A WBG COMPOUND SEMICONDUCTOR WITH ALUMINUM CONCENTRATION OF 60% TO 90%. THE ~2-EV BAND-GAP ENERGY OF THIS MATERIAL IS ENGINEERED TO MATCH THE EMISSION SPECTRUM OF BOTH CLYC AND CEBR3. THE HIGH BAND-GAP OF ALGAAS ALSO PROVIDES MUCH LOWER DARK NOISE AND BETTER RADIATION TOLERANCE THAN SI-BASED DETECTORS. COMPARED TO CONVENTIONAL PMTS, THE COMPACT SIZE, LOW VOLTAGE OPERATION, AND LIGHTER WEIGHT OF ALGAAS SSPM IS IDEAL FOR SPACED-BASED INSTRUMENTS. THE ADVANTAGES OF ALGAAS SSPMS AND THE EXCELLENT DETECTION PROPERTIES OF CLYC AND CEBR3 SCINTILLATION MATERIALS MAKE THEM A PERFECT MATCH IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW GAMMA AND NEUTRON SPECTROMETERS FOR PLANETARY SCIENCE.