SBIR Phase I: High Temperature High Resolution Cesium-Antimony Semiconductor Gamma Spectroscopy Detectors for Borehole Radiochemical

本小企业创新研究第一期项目旨在构建一种用于钻孔核地球化学的新型高温伽马射线能谱探测器。 铯锑（Cs3 Sb）是一种广泛用于薄膜真空光电阴极的半导体。在单晶形式下，它具有比Ge更上级的用于伽马辐射检测的许多性质：（1）较低的电子-空穴对能量（2 eV vs 3 eV），用于更好的本征能量分辨率;（2）较高的带隙（1.6 vs 0.7 eV），用于低热噪声，甚至低于CdTe，并且在室温或高温下操作;以及（3）较高的Z（55 51，vs 32），用于大4-5倍的~ MeV伽马射线的阻止能力。 第一阶段的目标是 生长足够大的Cs3 Sb晶体，并将其制造成环境（氧气、水蒸气）保护的室温辐射探测器，以证明它们可能成为伽马射线探测器的未来。这些探测器可以取代工业和医疗分析仪器中的NaI（Tl）和其他闪烁体探测器以及SiLi和HPGe伽马射线光谱探测器。这一发展将使新的科学仪器能够用于化学、物理、行星科学、天体物理学、生物学、医学等领域的研究和教育。使用X射线和伽马射线的其他地方。调查结果将广泛传播和出版。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I Project aims to construct a novel elevated temperature gamma ray spectroscopy detector for borehole nuclear geochemistry. Cesium-Antimony (Cs3Sb) is a semiconductor widely used commercially for thin film vacuum photocathodes. In single crystal form, it has many properties superior to Ge for gamma radiation detection: (1) a lower electron-hole pair energy (2 eV vs 3 eV) for better intrinsic energy resolution; (2) a higher bandgap (1.6 vs 0.7 eV) for low thermal noise, even lower than CdTe and operation at room or elevated temperatures; and (3) a higher Z (55 & 51, vs 32) for a stopping power 4-5 times greater ~ MeV gamma rays. In Phase I, the aim is to grow sufficiently large crystals of Cs3Sb, and fabricate them into environmentally (oxygen, water vapor) protected room temperature radiation detectors, to demonstrate that they may become the future of gamma ray detectors. These detectors could replace NaI(Tl) and other scintillator detectors, and SiLi and HPGe gamma ray spectroscopy detectors in industrial and medical analytical instrumentation.This development will enable new scientific instrumentation used in research and education in chemistry, physics, planetary science, astrophysics, biology, medicine and other places where x- and gamma- rays are used. The results will be widely disseminated and published.