RADIATION MONITORING DEVICES, INC. — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: DTRA182-007

Description

Scintillators are the major components of radiation detection systems used in identification of Special Nuclear Materials. One of their key properties is the energy resolution (ER) that links directly to isotope identification capabilities. Typically the ER for scintillators varies from 3% (at 662 keV, FWHM) for the best materials to more common 6-7%. At the moment, many detectors use latter materials due to their lower cost. The goal of this project is to utilize a promising new pathway in material’s engineering of existing compositions to improve their ER and to increase the selection of materials available to detector manufacturers. It has been shown recently that many scintillation properties, including the ER, can be improved through the materials engineering approach of co-doping. Possibility of such improvements has been already demonstrated in tri-bromides and alkali halides. The objective is to pursue co-doping in selected materials and achieve 25% to 50% better resolution in larger crystal sizes.