Low Cost, Efficient, Room Temperature Semiconductor Gamma-Ray Detectors

Gamma ray spectrometers provide detection and spectroscopy of energetic photons (-rays), and are expected to be an important component of the future nuclear physics experiments including those being planned for the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) that is being funded by the Department of Energys Office of Nuclear Physics. Performance of the systems used in these applications is often limited by the properties of detectors available at present. Important requirements for the detectors used in these applications include high -ray stopping efficiency, high energy resolution, low cost, compact size and ruggedness. No commercially available detector meets all these requirements. The overall goal of the Phase I and Phase II effort is to demonstrate the feasibility of developing high performance, low cost spectrometers for nuclear physics by applying coplanar grid and Frisch collar device designs to TlBr. TlBr has the potential to be a more sensitive, lower cost alternative to CZT, the leading room temperature semiconductor gamma-ray detector material. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits: In addition to nuclear physics experiments, nuclear non-proliferation, computed tomography and non-destructive testing are other applications where high performance, less expensive gamma-ray spectrometers will have beneficial applications. One medical application that RMD already takes part in is the production of surgical probes used for localizing radiopharmaceutical uptake. These tools have become part of a technique (sentinel node biopsy) that minimizes the debilitating nature of removing lymph nodes in monitoring the spread of breast cancer