SBIR Phase I: Novel Solid-State Cerenkov Detector for Portable and Wearable Neutron Radiation Sensors

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to bring a disruptive neutron detector technology to market, filling an urgent need for real-time, portable and wearable radiation detectors. Successful commercialization of this innovative technology will serve a broad customer base in the nuclear detection and verification industry. This includes nuclear power industry workers, national lab staff, and homeland security personnel, all of whom need to detect the presence of neutron-emitting radioactive materials and assess the health physics risks in real time. This multi-billion dollar market is currently well served with gamma ray and x-ray detection devices, but the capabilities for wearable neutron dosimeters and detectors are currently less well developed. The proposed technology closes this gap and thus addresses new commercial opportunities across a targeted array of markets: in addition to supporting U.S. technology leadership and safer low-carbon nuclear energy generation, this project will explore new kinds of directional arrays for neutron imaging and portal detectors, helping to make the nation's borders more secure against illicit nuclear materials and providing improved tools for nuclear safeguards and verification. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will evaluate the feasibility of a novel compact, wearable neutron detector/dosimeter based solely on solid-state technology. Research objectives include a thorough quantitative assessment of the detector front-end material response to neutron radiation, evaluation of its optoelectronic characteristics, and gamma discrimination. This will be the first detector of its kind, enabling portability, low cost, real time signal capability and complete integration with semiconductor microdevice technology. The novel device concept combines a directional optical converter (neutrons to secondary electrons to light) with state-of-the-art optoelectronic detection to provide a digital output which is compatible with wireless reporting protocols and internet integration. The proposed device can therefore be reconfigured for many radiation detection tasks that are currently not feasible with larger, bulky devices using conventional gas proportional and scintillator detector technology. The anticipated result is a novel disruptive neutron detection approach. The research to be performed at the forefront of neutron detection science includes a thorough evaluation of the neutron-capture process, and aims for the first time to better understand the radiation response of a high density of large capture cross-section nuclei in a high-purity optical medium.