Advanced Radiation Detector

In response to a DTRA need, Physical Optics Corporation (POC) has developed a new, low-cost Advanced Radiation Detector (ARAD) and a process to produce it. ARAD is based on thallium-doped cesium iodide scintillator, sensitive to gamma and X-ray energies up to 1 MeV with 3% resolution, and fully compatible with existing mass production technologies. In Phase I POC successfully completed the ARAD system design, developed a manufacturing technology to micromachine microchannel matrixes from 4 in. silicon wafers and fill them with the scintillator. We fabricated an ARAD prototype and integrated this filled microchannel silicon matrix with a signal acquisition processing hardware/software and demonstrated X-ray radiation detection in the range of 7.5 to 36.5 mrad/h at energies from 7.5 to 80 keV. In Phase II POC will develop and demonstrate the optimized ARAD prototype, develop a prototype manufacturing line, and conduct limited testing of this line. After the first year of Phase II, the prototype line will produce 2 in. x 2 in. ARADs for ~$120 (less than half the current $350); after the second year the cost will be down to $56, laying the foundation for an initial operational production producing ARADs at ~$4 each in Phase III.