Fiscal Year	2012
Division	Graduate School of Engineering & Applied Science
Department	Physics
Investigator(s)	Karunasiri, Gamani
Sponsor	Defense Intelligence Agency (DoD)
Summary	The aim of the research project is to address pressing intelligence problems including the remote assessment and detection of nuclear and radiological weapons. The proposed research is to explore a novel solid-state radiation detector that operates similarly to a conventional spark chamber where the high internal gain amplifies weak signals generated by ionizing radiation. The key advantage of the proposed detector is that its internal gain produces a large signal compared to conventional solid-state radiation detectors that require additional support circuitry to recover the weak signals generated. A sensor similar to the proposed detector has been successfully tested using visible light; this indicates that a similar device architecture can be employed to detect ionizing radiation since both light and ionizing radiation produce e-h pairs in the active region of the detector. In addition, the experience from the previously-tested application indicated that the trigger level of the detector can be controlled electronically; thus, the proposed device should be suitable for operating in environments with varying radiation levels. The detector can be built using standard microelectronics technology which enables high radiation hardness and the potential for detector arrays with enhanced detection and tracking capabilities. Successful completion of this project would result in a new capability for potential use in identification and analysis of Radiological Dispersion and Improvised Nuclear Devices (RDDs and INDs).
Keywords	Solid State Spark-Chamber Radiation Detection
Publications	Publications, theses (not shown) and data repositories will be added to the portal record when information is available in FAIRS and brought back to the portal
Data	Publications, theses (not shown) and data repositories will be added to the portal record when information is available in FAIRS and brought back to the portal