Position Sensitive Gamma Ray Sensor

Mercuric Iodide has several properties that make it an ideal detector material for space-based astronomy applications. Due to its high atomic number (Z=80,53) and high density (r= 6.3 g/cm3), a significantly higher quantum efficiency for x-ray and gamma ray detection can be achieved with a relatively small amount of material. The project objectives are to:+ develop the technology to readout signals from a large number of anode pixels on a mercuric iodide detector. + demonstrate the ability to produce a large volume mercuric iodide detector with excellent spectroscopic and spatial resolution. + construct a mercuric iodide position sensitive spectrometer with greater thickness than has yet been produced.Completion of these objectives will allow us to demonstrate the performance of the mercuric iodide detector system for application to gamma ray imaging and spectroscopy. ~000159 ~