NEW CONCEPTS FOR HGI2-SCINTILLATOR GAMMA RAY SPECTROSCOPY

THE INNOVATION IS A HIGH-ENERGY, GAMMA-RAY SPECTROMETER BASED ON CRYSTAL SCINTILLATORS OPTICALLY COUPLED TO UNIQUE, ADVANCED HGL2 PHOTODETECTORS (IN CONTRAST TO COUPLING THE SCINTILLATORS TO THE MORE CONVENTIONAL LIGHT SENSORS, I.E., PHOTOMULTIPLIER TUBES. ADVANTAGES INCLUDE GREATER RUGGEDNESS, IMPROVED (UP TO 2X) ENERGY RESOLUTION, MARKEDLY SMALLER SIZE AND WEIGHT (NOT MUCH IN EXCESS OF THE SCINTILLATOR ALONE), REDUCED POWER, AND INSENSITIVITY TO MAGNETIC-FIELD PERTURBATIONS. THE OBJECTIVE OF PHASE I WILL BE TO BUILD AND/OR TEST AND EVALUATE THREE NOVEL CONCEPTS RELATING TO THE GAMMA-RAY SPECTROMETER INNOVATION. THE FIRST EFFORT WILL FOCUS ON A NEW DESIGN CONCEPT FOR THE HGL2 PHOTOCELL, INCLUDING A NOVEL, TRANSPARENT ENTRANCE ELECTRODE AND PACKAGING SUITABLE FOR SPACE/VACUUM APPLICATIONS. NEXT, THE PROJECT WILL EXAMINE MULTIPLE HGL2 DETECTORS COUPLED TO A SCINTILLATOR FOR IMPROVED LIGHT COLLECTION AND SPECTROMETER PERFORMANCE. THEN, THE PROJECT WILL AIM AT DEVELOPING A NOVEL MATERIAL THAT COULD BE POSITIONED BETWEEN THE SCINTILLATOR AND THE PHOTODETECTOR TO SHIFT THE WAVELENGTH TO BETTER MATCH THE SPECTRAL RESPONSE OF THE PHOTODETECTOR AND POSSIBLY AMPLIFY THE LIGHTSIGNAL. SATISFACTORY COMPLETION OF THIS WORK WILL VERIFY THE USEFULNESS OF THE INNOVATION AND PROVIDE DATA LEADING TO PHASE II DEVELOPMENT AND REFINEMENT. THE INNOVATION IS A HIGH-ENERGY, GAMMA-RAY SPECTROMETER BASED ON CRYSTAL SCINTILLATORS OPTICALLY COUPLED TO UNIQUE, ADVANCED HGL2 PHOTODETECTORS (IN CONTRAST TO COUPLING THE SCINTILLATORS TO THE MORE CONVENTIONAL LIGHT SENSORS, I.E., PHOTOMULTIPLIER TUBES. ADVANTAGES INCLUDE GREATER RUGGEDNESS, IMPROVED (UP TO 2X) ENERGY RESOLUTION, MARKEDLY SMALLER SIZE AND WEIGHT (NOT MUCH IN EXCESS OF THE SCINTILLATOR ALONE), REDUCED POWER, AND INSENSITIVITY TO MAGNETIC-FIELD PERTURBATIONS. THE OBJECTIVE OF PHASE I WILL BE TO BUILD AND/OR TEST AND EVALUATE THREE NOVEL CONCEPTS RELATING TO THE GAMMA-RAY SPECTROMETER INNOVATION. THE FIRST EFFORT WILL FOCUS ON A NEW DESIGN CONCEPT FOR THE HGL2 PHOTOCELL, INCLUDING A NOVEL, TRANSPARENT ENTRANCE ELECTRODE AND PACKAGING SUITABLE FOR SPACE/VACUUM APPLICATIONS. NEXT, THE PROJECT WILL EXAMINE MULTIPLE HGL2 DETECTORS COUPLED TO A SCINTILLATOR FOR IMPROVED LIGHT COLLECTION AND SPECTROMETER PERFORMANCE. THEN, THE PROJECT WILL AIM AT DEVELOPING A NOVEL MATERIAL THAT COULD BE POSITIONED BETWEEN THE SCINTILLATOR AND THE PHOTODETECTOR TO SHIFT THE WAVELENGTH TO BETTER MATCH THE SPECTRAL RESPONSE OF THE PHOTODETECTOR AND POSSIBLY AMPLIFY THE LIGHTSIGNAL. SATISFACTORY COMPLETION OF THIS WORK WILL VERIFY THE USEFULNESS OF THE INNOVATION AND PROVIDE DATA LEADING TO PHASE II DEVELOPMENT AND REFINEMENT.