AN YTTRIUM ALUMINUM PEROVSKITE BASED GAMMA-RAY DOSIMETER

WE PROPOSE TO EXPLOIT THE PROPERTIES OF OUR NEW, FAST, BRIGHT SCINTILLATOR, YAIO3:CE(+3) (YAP), TO CONSTRUCT A DETECTOR FOR PHOTONS WITH ENERGIES FROM 20 KEV TO 3 MEV. AN ARRAY OF THESE INDIVIDUAL DETECTORS WILL SERVE AS THE BASIS FOR A BROAD-BAND Y-RAY DOSIMETER CAPABLE OF MEASURING EXPOSURES FROM 5 MR/H TO 1 R/H AND EQUIVALENT DOSES FROM 5 X 10(-2) TO 10 (+4) MSV/H. THEA ADVANTAGES OF YAP SCINTILLATOR ARE ITS ROBUST MECHANICAL PROPERTIES, FAST DECAY TIMES, HIGH DENSITY, AND THE SMALL ENERGY DEPENDENCE OF ITS SIGNALS. OUR DEVELOPMENT STUDY HAS TWO TECHNICAL OBJECTIVES: (1) CONSTRUCT AND EVALUATE THE DOSEMETRIC POTENTIAL OF YAP-PLASTIC COMBINATION DETECTORS WITH BOTH PHOTOMULTIPLIER TUBE AND PHOTOIODIDE READOUT; AND (2) DESIGN A DOSIMETERIC DETECTOR ARRAY OPTIMIZED FOR SENSITIVITY AND ENERGY INDEPENDENCE USING MONTE CARLO COMPUTER SIMULATIONS.