Instrumentation for Halides-Based Scintillator Materials Development
Abstract
The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 and the Department of Defense (DoD) Appropriations Act for 2016 allocated $28M to assist Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority-Serving Institutions (HBCU/MI). The program aims to (a) enhance research programs and capabilities in scientific and engineering disciplines critical to the national security functions of DoD; (b) enhance the capacity of HBCU/MI to participate in defense research programs and activities; and (c) increase the number of graduates, including underrepresented minorities, in fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) that are important to the defense mission. The FY 2016 DoD HBCU/MI Research and Education Program Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) solicited proposals from single investigators at HBCUs and MIs for the acquisition equipment and instrumentation in scientific areas important to one or more the three defense research offices, namely: Army Research Office (ARO); Office of Naval Research (ONR); and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR). All equipment/instrument grant awards made under this program will have a 12-month performance period. The objective of the proposal is to acquire an absorption/fluorescence spectroscopy instrument for developing novel scintillator materials based on rare-earth doped halide crystals. The PI proposed to acquire a glove-box workstation, UV-VIS-NIR spectrophotometer, and combined steady state and time-resolved fluorescence spectrometer (Spectrofluorometer). Materials such as rare-earth (Ce3+, Pr3+, Eu2+) doped lead halide based binary (lead chloride (PbCl2) and lead bromide (PbBr2)) and ternary (potassium lead chloride (KPb2Cl5) and potassium lead bromide (KPb2Br5)) compounds will be studied as scintillation crystals. The proposed rare-earth doped halides materials will be prepared using horizontal or vertical Bridgman growth technique. The PI proposes to investigate temperature dependence of the emission, effects of different dopants concentrations as well as time-resolved excitation and emission wavelengths from these materials. In addition to luminescent properties of the materials, the PI proposes to investigate the optical and electronic properties (band gaps) of these materials as well. The proposed research will impact nuclear medicine, high energy physics, and homeland security through the development of new halide-based rare earth scintillators. Besides its impact on research, undergraduate and graduate students will be trained to gain knowledge and skill sets spanning material processing, crystal growth, and spectroscopic characterization.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Feb 06, 2017
- Source ID
- W911NF1610530
Entities
People
- Uwe Hömmerich
Organizations
- Army Contracting Command
- Hampton University
- Office of the Secretary of Defense