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

本小型企业创新研究一期项目旨在构建一种用于井眼核地球化学的新型高温伽马能谱探测器。铯锑（Cs3Sb）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，它具有许多优于Ge的特性，用于伽马辐射探测：(1)较低的电子-空穴对能量（2ev vs 3ev），具有更好的内在能量分辨率；(2)具有更高的带隙（1.6 vs 0.7 eV），具有更低的热噪声，甚至低于CdTe，可在室温或高温下工作；(3)更高的Z值（55 & 51,vs 32），阻止功率为~ MeV射线的4-5倍。在第一阶段，目标是生长足够大的Cs3Sb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。这些探测器可以在工业和医疗分析仪器中取代NaI（Tl）和其他闪烁体探测器，以及SiLi和HPGe伽马能谱探测器。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、医学和其他使用x射线和伽马射线的领域的研究和教育。调查结果将广为散发和出版。

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.