CAPESYM INC — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: DTRA222-002

Description

Gamma dosimetry is an integral part of radiation safety and protection for a wide range of military operations. For these applications, Geiger Müller (GM) tube is used as the standard gamma dose rate sensor. The cost-to-performance metric for this sensor type has reached a plateau and new sensor materials are needed for the next generation of dosimeters. Recently there has been a vast development in solid state gamma detectors such as silicon photodiodes for dosimetry applications. However, these sensors have temperature sensitivity, non-linearity over a wide dose range and are not nuclear survivable for DoD environments. In this program, we will develop low-cost, high-accuracy rugged nuclear-survivable non-GM gamma dosimeters for DTRA applications. These dosimeters will be applicable to a wide range of doses from background to 100 Gy/hr, and will be operable at temperatures between -50 to 55°C. In phase I, we will demonstrate the operability of the sensors and optimize them to meet the specific performance targets. A dosimeter prototype using this optimal sensor material will be fabricated in Phase II and will be provided to DTRA for evaluation.