Room temperature gamma ray detectors are the cornerstone of many radiation detection and imaging systems in various fields, such as medical imaging, nuclear security, scientific research and so on. Compared to scintillators, the semiconductor gamma ray detector has the advantage of intrinsically high energy and spatial resolution. However, after decades’ research and development of various candidate semiconductors, CdZnTe is the only commercial semiconductor gamma ray detector.
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ANP Contributes to the U.S. 2023 Long Range Plan for Nuclear Science
Berkeley Lab’s Nuclear Science Division hosted a launch event for the U.S. 2023 Long Range Plan for Nuclear Science on Friday, October 6, one of over 20 simultaneous events held across the country at various Nuclear Science Advisory Committee (NSAC) participating organizations.
Making Rad Maps With Robot Dogs
In 2013, researchers carried a Microsoft Kinect camera through houses in Japan’s Fukushima Prefecture. The device’s infrared light traced the contours of the buildings, making a rough 3D map. On top of this, the team layered information from an early version of a hand-held gamma-ray imager, displaying the otherwise invisible nuclear radiation from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident.
Semiconductor Detector Lab Reaches for the Stars
For decades, the LBNL Semiconductor Detector Lab (SDL) has been at the forefront of advancements in gamma-ray detector technology. Amongst the technologies pioneered at the SDL are double-sided high-purity germanium (HPGe) strip detectors with amorphous germanium (a-Ge) contacts [1] (Fig. 1). These devices find application in a range of areas including basic science, nuclear security, medical imaging, and gamma-ray astronomy. Using this technology, SDL researchers have designed, developed, and built detectors for multiple instruments for astrophysics projects led by the Space Sciences Laboratory at UC Berkeley [2]. These include the Compton Spectrometer and Imager (COSI) [3-6] and the Gamma-Ray Imager/ Polarimeter for Solar Flares (GRIPS) [7-9], which were successfully flown on balloon missions for NASA.
Applied Nuclear Physics Program Aiding Clean-up of Cold War-Era Radioactive Contamination through Radiological Mapping
From 1955–1988, low-level waste solutions from the processing of uranium and irradiated nuclear fuel were discharged into unlined earthen storage basins at the Savannah River Site (SRS) F-Area [1]. Over the decades, radioactive contaminants including uranium and iodine-129 (I-129) have leaked out of the basins and into the groundwater of the surrounding wetlands, and are now present at levels that exceed regulatory thresholds.
R&D 100 of the day: The Neutron and Gamma Ray Source Localization and Mapping Platform 2.0
By Heather Hall | January 21, 2022
The Neutron and Gamma Localization and Mapping Platform (NG-LAMP), developed by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, is the first ever portable system for simultaneous imaging and mapping of gamma ray and neutron radioactivity in three-dimensions (3D) and in real-time. Unlike all other portable, commercially available radiation imaging systems, which image and map radiation signatures in only one or two dimensions, NG-LAMP creates 3D reconstructions of both the environment surrounding the detector and radioactivity. This allows users to visualize and quantify the distribution of radiation signatures with contextual information about the measurement environment. Moreover, these capabilities are integrated into a compact, lightweight platform designed for hand-portable operations and operations on unmanned aerial and ground vehicles. The device addresses multiple nuclear security, nuclear safeguards and nuclear decontamination and remediation needs. The size and weight of NG-LAMP permits efficient deployment to U.S. military, international inspectors, and law enforcement personnel conducting search and interdiction operations in support of countering nuclear threats and mitigating human exposure to radioactivity