Pixel Array Germanium Detectors for Nuclear Physics

The Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Nuclear Physics supports the development and maintenance of germanium gamma-ray detector arrays at national laboratories and universities. The Pixel Array Germanium (PAGe) detector systems to be developed here will provide a lower cost, higher resolution, and more readily scalable basis for the next generation of large solid-angle coverage detector arrays. The PAGe detector systems will greatly improve the performance of large-diameter imaging planar detectors through fundamental improvements in 3-dimensional (3D) spatial resolution and count-rate capability. The PAGe will be developed using modeling and experimentation to determine the pixel pitch that provides optimal energy resolution, spatial resolution, and count-rate capability. In the PAGe design, the detector wafer and cryostat will be engineered to be a single large hexagon to facilitate detector tiling. During Phase I, PHDs Co. will: (1) determine the optimal pixel pitch via modeling, (2) design and fabricate a 90-mm pixel detector based on modeling results, and (3) evaluate the energy resolution, 3D gamma-ray spatial resolution, and count-rate capacity of the optimal pixel array design. Phase I will also see a new PAGe system design created to accommodate next generation Nuclear Physics experiments. New pixelated high-resolution radiation detection systems will combine modular designs with advanced Nuclear-Physics array concepts to provide a greater understanding of fundamental Nuclear Structure while creating new imaging technology for applied fields such as Nuclear Security and Nuclear Medicine imaging. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits: While the DOE Nuclear Physics array applications are straightforward, there are numerous other commercially important areas and societal benefits from the evolution of such detector systems. The application areas include nuclear fuel holdup measurements, environmental monitoring, nuclear weapons non-proliferation, treaty verification, nuclear explosion monitoring, and nuclear medicine.