Low-Cost SSPM-Based Digital Radiation Monitor

Many facilities throughout the DOE Complex will reside in a safe storage, or surveillance and maintenance mode, until such time that funding resources are available to perform decontamination and demolition. Therefore, long-term monitoring systems are required to ensure against a contaminant release and provide rapid response in the case of such an event. New or improved monitors or sensors are needed to record contaminant levels that would expose workers during deactivation and decontamination activities. This project will combine a solid-state photomultiplier (SSPM) detector concept with a complimentary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) fabrication environment to produce a sensor capable of long-term functionality with the ability to easily form sensor webs. CMOS fabrication will provide a low-cost, process controlled production method. In Phase I, a low-cost ratemeter, based on CMOS/SSPM technology, will be coupled to a scintillation crystal. SSPM array chips will be designed and produced, and then coupled them to various scintillation materials. Experiments will be conducted to determine the configuration that maintains low cost with maximum sensitivity. In Phase II, a packaged sensor with integrated support electronics will be produced. Commercial Applications And Other Benefits as described by the Applicant: The technology should provide high-efficiency nuclear detection at low cost. Companies and national labs that monitor radiation have a need for low cost digital ratemeters and dosimeters to improve monitoring, reduce liability, and improve record keeping ability. Nuclear, high energy, and atomic physics experiments using scintillator readout or direct detection of light could utilize improved SSPMs