ENERGY COMPENSATED SOLID STATE GAMMA SENSOR

A KEY REQUIREMENT FOR THE SUCCESS OF THE NEW, TACTICAL RADIATION DOSIMETRY INSTRUMENTATION NOW BEING DEVELOPED BY THE ARMY IS TO HAVE AN ENERGY COMPENSATED, SOLID STATE GAMMA RAY SENSOR. ATTEMPS TO USE TRADITIONAL FILTERING TECHNIQUES TO ACHIEVE A FLAT ENERGY RESPONSE HAVE NOT BEEN SUCCESSFUL AND A NEW APPROACH IS REQUIRED. WE PROPOSE TO UTILIZE RECENTLY AVAILABLE, INEXPENSIVE DIGITAL MICROCHIPS TO ELECTRONICALLY ACHIEVE THE GOAL. IN PHASE I OF THE PROGRAM, WE WILL FOCUS ON THE DETAILED ANALYSIS OF THE DETECTOR RESPONSE AND ON THE ALGORITHMS REQUIRED TO CORRECT IT AND ALSO ON THE CONCEPTUAL DESIGN OF THE ELECTRONICS. IN PHASE II WE WILL COMPLETE THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE MATHEMATICS AND PRODUCE PROTOTYPE SYSTEMS WHICH WILL BE TESTED FOR ENERGY RESPONSE IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE OTHER RELEVANT SPECIFICATIONS IMPOSED BY THE REQUIREMENT OF THE FINAL INSTRUMENT. BY THE END OF THIS PROGRAM, AN INEXPENSIVE, FULLY TESTED DETECTOR-ELECTRONIC DESIGN FOR THE GAMMA DOSE RATE SENSOR SHOULD BE READY FOR IMMEDIATE INCORPORATION INTO THE POCKET DOSIMETER OR OTHER PENDING ARMY NUCLEAR INSTRUMENTATION.