Radiation Hard Scintillation Materials for Planetary Science and Astrophysics

Scintillation materials are used for detection of radiation, such as gamma rays, neutrons, and charged particles, which produces a light flash with an intensity proportional to the energy deposited in the scintillator.nbsp; Compact, radiation tolerant scintillator-based nuclear detectors are a key component for a large number of science instruments in planetary science and astrophysics.nbsp; A key development for future scientific exploration is a radiation-hard, high Zeff, high-density material that is sensitive to neutrons and provides excellent energy resolution for gamma rays spectroscopy.nbsp; Traditionally, these materials would only detect one type of radiation, yet recent developments provide materials that provide unique responses to different radiation types.nbsp; A material that has a high sensitivity allows for compact instruments reducing spacecraft (or rover) requirements and improving information content.nbsp; RMD is pursuing materials designed with thallium to provide excellent stopping power.nbsp; While some materials have shown excellent radiation tolerance, large volume growth is problematic. nbsp;The Phase I effort will identify candidate materials for future development by assessing the potential for large volume growth, while maintaining good spectroscopic performance.nbsp; Additional down selection is done by assessing the material radiation hardness to protons with a goal of no less than 80% light loss after 300 kRad of dose.nbsp; Growth beyond 5 cm will be pursued in a Phase II effort for ideal candidates, and a detector prototype module will be constructed for assessing performance environmentally and spectroscopically.