High-Z Nanocomposites for Fast and Radiation Hard Scintillation

Chemelectronics LLC will team up with the University of California, Los Angeles to development and commercialization of nanocomposite monoliths comprising high-Z nanoparticles for gamma-ray spectroscopy in portal monitors. The technical approach will leverage the fundamental research results of the institutional partner at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), which has innovated polymer nanocomposite scintillator formulations comprising high-Z nanoparticles uniformly dispersed in the solid-state polymer matrix. These nanocomposites retain high optical transparency at nanoparticles loadings up to 60 wt%. Measured scintillation light yields are much higher than plastic scintillators loaded with high-Z organo-metallic compounds, with nanosecond decay time. Deconvoluted photopeak with energy resolution up to 8% for 662 keV gamma has been obtained in small-size samples. The synthesis will be adapted to incorporate a wide range of different high-Z oxide and fluoride nanoparticles, as well as quantum dots, to further improve the light yield and effective Z. The composition and synthetic chemical of the polymer matrix will also be investigated to enhance the light yield and scalability at low cost (expected to be <$1/cm3). The synthesis will be scaled up to large volumes (>1000 cm3) to meet the performance metrics required for radiation portal monitors.During Phase I, the team will (1) identify the solution engineering process protocols for the low-cost high-Z nanoparticles and (2) carry out preliminary integration high-Z nanocomposite with silicon photodetector for gamma-ray spectroscopy.It is anticipated that multiple iterations will be required to optimize the engineering of nanocomposites to achieve high performance gamma ray. The engineering work will be carried out at Chemelectronics LLC, while the device integration and gamma-ray test will be done at UCLA.