Award Data

The goal of this program is to develop the mixed elpasolite scintillators in order to achieve an energy resolution of  (≤ 2.5% (approaching 2%) at 662 keV for crystal sizes of up to 2 inch by 2 inch.  In this project we will investigate compositional changes in selected mixed-elpasolite(s) in order to achieve very high energy resolution.  By incorporating 6Li, neutron detection will also be t ...

The goal of this workis to establish a radiation-aware capability in a commercial EDA design flow that will enable first-pass success in radiation resiliency for DoD ASIC designs in much the same way that existing EDA design suites ensure first pass functionality and performance success of complex ASICs destined for commercial applications.Such an integrated capability does not presently exist.The ...

For effective protection against radiated threats, it is important to understand not only the physics of the threats, but also to quantify the effects they have on mission-critical electrical systems. Radiated vulnerability and susceptibility testing requires delivery of high peak power and peak electric fields to distant targets. The most practical solution to simulate such environments on large ...

The multidisciplinary area of GEOINT is changing and becoming more complex. A major driver of innovation in GEOINT collection and processing is artificial intelligence (AI). AI is being leveraged to help accomplish spatial analysis, change detection, and image or video triage tasks where filtering objects of interest from large volumes of data is critical. NGA is confronting the changing GEOINT l ...

The ability to discriminate between threatening and benign sources depends on the sensitivity, accuracy, and identification speed of the detection equipment. High energy resolution of the radionuclide sensor is necessary to decrease the likelihood of false identification. However, few scintillators achieve better than 3% energy resolution at 662 keV, and none exceed 2.5%. The goal of this effort i ...

At the completion of the research and development effort a Li-foil multi-wire proportional counter (MWPC) neutron detector with more than 625-cm2 of active area will be included in a portable radiation detection system. The system is expected to outperform the standards set by the ANSI N42.53 standards, and gamma-ray rejection ratio (GRR) of 1.0x10-8 or better. A gamma-ray spectrometer for isotope ...

Phase II will utilize knowledge gained from phase I work to develop and execute a manufacturing process suitable for producing quantities of 3-D printed discrete circuits for radiation detection systems.  The goal is to support mobile radiation detection system requirements for high voltage, analog amplification, and MCA functionality to produce differential pulse height spectra in time sequence. ...

Nalas Engineering and Johns Hopkins University collaborated in a Phase I STTR program to study reactive mixtures of HI3O8 and nanocomposite fuels previously developed by the Weihs Group. These fuel/oxidizer mixtures are uniquely able to simultaneously produce heat and biocidal iodine gas, a combination designed to destroy biological weapons. The team at Nalas focused on evaluating conditions for p ...

There is significant interest in multi-functional materials enabling gamma-ray spectroscopy, neutron/gamma pulse shape discrimination (PSD), ultra-fast response, and time-of-flight (TOF) neutron detection. These materials would be used in a variety of mission scenarios for the localization and monitoring of special nuclear materials. Commercial inorganic scintillators offer some of these character ...

Improving the effectiveness of counter-WMD operations requires improved understanding of weapon-target interaction. Specifically, time-resolved measurements of temperature and composition are required to allow temporal evolution of a detonation fireball. To address this need, SA Photonics will develop MONITOR, a laser-based temperature diagnostic that will enable wide dynamic range temperature mea ...