Commercial and Cost Effective Production of Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) Foils

78200S Particle tracking detectors are used extensively in nuclear and high energy experiments supported by the DOE. New advances in the technology of micropattern detectors, and in particular Gas Electron Multipliers (GEMs), offer significant improvements in performance over traditional tracking detectors. This project will develop a commercial source of GEM foils for use in the nuclear and high energy research community. Phase I will study various configurations of materials and manufacturing techniques used in the construction of GEM foils in order to produce foils that will meet the requirements needed for particle tracking detectors. Sample foils will be produced and evaluated in terms of their performance as actual particle detectors. The resulting data will be compiled, analyzed, and used to optimize foil design. Phase II will further develop this process in order to produce a commercial source of GEM foils for the research community. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: GEM detectors have potential use in research (including nuclear physics, high energy physics, and astrophysics), as well as in medical imaging, nuclear non-proliferation, and homeland security applications.