Exploration of Organic Electronics as Radiation Detectors

该计划将探索使用有机电子设备作为辐射检测设备。特别是，有机场效应晶体管(OFET)将是人们感兴趣的主要器件。有机电子作为辐射探测器具有巨大的潜力，这有两个重要原因。首先，与传统的硅基电子产品相比，它们的化学成分更像水。这在辐射剂量学领域是至关重要的，因为对人体内能量沉积的估计通常是通过水中的能量吸收来近似的。其次，有机电子产品的制造工艺比传统电子产品更简单、更便宜、更灵活。一种完全的有机辐射探测器不需要硅片，可以采用旋涂等简单的制造工艺，可以沉积在柔性衬底上，并且可以在不需要重新校准的情况下使用各种辐射类型和能量(与任何其他传统辐射探测器不同)。**在这项研究计划中，有机辐射探测器将从多个方面进行探索。蒙特卡罗模拟将被用来研究探测器的化学成分以及物理尺寸和形状对器件的能量依赖性以及探测器对局部辐射场的扰动的作用。对化学成分的研究不仅是为了在尽可能宽的能量范围内使水的当量最大化，而且也是为了开发成分(即通过包括高原子序数材料)，以便通过使用多个探测器阵列(即具有不同能量灵敏度的多个探测器)来绘制能谱图。**麦吉尔大学(通过与化学系Dmytrii Perepichka教授的密切合作)制造的设备将被详细研究它们对一些变量的依赖性，包括：能量(~50 kVP-18 mV光子)、剂量率、温度、施加的偏置、累积剂量和方向响应。还将就探测器性能的其他标准衡量标准进行研究，如线性度、再现性、稳定性等。**旨在了解OFET辐射探测器信号产生的基本机制的基础研究将利用各种分析技术(即紫外线、核磁共振、荧光和电子顺磁共振光谱学)。**这项研究计划将在研究生中培养非常有价值的技能，并提供关于有机电子辐射响应的有价值的信息，这不仅对医学物理学家，而且对其他在空间科学和军事应用领域工作的人都有巨大的好处。

This program will explore the use of organic electronics as radiation detection devices. In particular, organic field effect transistors (OFETs) will be the principal device of interest. Organic electronics have tremendous potential as radiation detectors for two important reasons. First, their chemical composition more closely resembles water than conventional, silicon-based electronics. This is critically important in the field of radiation dosimetry since estimates of energy deposition in the human body are routinely approximated by energy absorption in water. Second, the processes by which organic electronics are manufactured can be simpler, cheaper and more flexible than with conventional electronics. A completely organic radiation detector does not require silicon wafers, can employ simple manufacturing processes such as spin coating, can be deposited on flexible substrates and can be used across a wide spectrum of radiation types and energies without requiring recalibration (unlike any other conventional radiation detector).**In this research program organic radiation detectors will be explored on multiple fronts. Monte Carlo simulations will be used to investigate the roles of detector chemical composition, as well as physical size and shape, on the energy-dependence of the devices as well as the perturbations introduced by the detector to the local radiation field. Chemical composition will be studied for the purpose of not only maximizing water-equivalence across as wide an energy range as possible, but also for the purpose of exploiting composition (i.e. through the inclusion of high atomic number materials) to permit energy spectrum mapping through the use of multiple detector arrays (i.e. multiple detectors with different energy sensitivities). **Devices that are manufactured at McGill University (through a close collaboration with professor Dmytrii Perepichka in the Department of Chemistry) will be studied in detail with respect to their dependence on a number of variables, including: energy (~50 kVp - 18 MV photons), dose rate, temperature, applied bias, cumulative dose and directional response. They will also be studied with respect to other standard measures of detector performance such as linearity, reproducibility, stability etc.**Basic research aimed at developing an understanding of the underlying mechanisms of signal generation in OFET radiation detectors will make use of various analytical techniques (i.e. UV, NMR, fluorescence and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy). **This research program will develop highly valuable skill sets in graduate students and provide valuable information on the radiation response of organic electronics that will be of tremendous benefit to not only Medical Physicists, but others working in fields such as space science and military applications.