'Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI)'
Doi
Abstract
We describe progress in the development of new materials for portable, room-temperature, gamma-radiation detection at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory at the Hanford Site in Washington State. High Z, high resistivity, amorphous semiconductors are being designed for use as solid-state detectors at near ambient temperatures; principles of operation are analogous to single-crystal semiconducting detectors. Amorphous semiconductors have both advantages and disadvantages compared to single crystals, and this project is developing methods to mitigate technical problems and design optimized material for gamma detection. Several issues involved in the fabrication of amorphous semiconductors are described, including reaction thermodynamics and kinetics, the development of pyrolytic coating, and the synthesis of ingots. The characterization of amorphous semiconductors is described, including sectioning and polishing protocols, optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, optical spectroscopy, particle-induced X-ram emission, Rutherford backscattering, and electrical testing. Then collaboration with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is discussed in the areas of Hall-effect measurements and current voltage data. Finally, we discuss the strategy for continuing the program
