SBIR Phase II: Gamma Ray Detector for Geophysical Exploration

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This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II research project aims to produce a radiation detector technology that will be able to provide a completely new level of performance for demanding industrial applications. Three different scintillator materials - LaBr3, LaCl3 and CeBr3 - have been shown in Phase I to provide outstanding results even when subjected to high temperatures. This trait makes these materials well suited for geologic well logging applications where radiation measurements must be in environments where temperatures exceed 175 C. The keys to furthering these materials are tailoring their chemical composition through dopants, producing ingots of larger sizes and packaging them to resist such environments. Producing more accurate well-logging tools should be a direct outcrop of this project. These tools should in turn enable the geology researcher to more efficiently conduct experiments, and to reduce some of the uncertainties in the otherwise highly speculative field of oil exploration. The broader impacts of this program will encompass both a better understanding of this family of scintillator materials and their use in other applications for which temperature performance is not a key issue. Applications include nuclear science to medical imaging to security and monitoring.