A highly sensitive, fingertip-sized neutron detection device developed by University of Nebraska-Lincoln researchers could be used for locating hidden nuclear materials, monitoring nuclear weapons storage and other national security applications.
The detector, built around a boron-carbide semiconductor diode smaller than a dime, can detect neutrons emitted by the materials that fuel nuclear weapons.
"This is a leapfrog technology in neutron detection," said Peter Dowben, UNL physicist who was the first to fabricate a boron carbide semi-conductor. Using Dowben's boron carbide semiconductors, the research team built a detector about the size of a Lego block that is much more efficient, lighter, and tougher than existing detectors.
"This device is very small, it can be powered with small batteries or even solar cells, and it can withstand corrosion and extremely high temperatures," said mechanical engineer Brian Robertson.
Five patents are held by UNL or are pending on the processes for producing the semi-conductors and on the device itself. The team is continuing to refine the device, focusing on improving its efficiency and reliability, and is exploring commercialization with a Lincoln-based engineering company.
"The materials used to make the device are fairly inexpensive and there are manufacturers here in Nebraska with the technology to produce these detectors right now," Dowben said.
Development of the detector was funded largely through the Nebraska Research Initiative, a state-funded competitive grants program.
"This is a story of how the state's investment in research can lead to technology that benefits Nebraskans and the nation," said Prem Paul, UNL Vice Chancellor for Research.
The detector has applications beyond national security, said physicist Shireen Adenwalla. For instance, NASA is interested in a low-mass, thin device like this for their comet landers, which measure the hydrogen content of comets. It also has uses in experimental medical radiation treatments for cancer and for "scattering" experiments performed in basic neutron research.
The research team, all affiliated with UNL's Center for Materials Research Analysis, includes Brian Robertson, Mechanical Engineering; Shireen Adenwalla, Physics; Jennifer Brand, Engineering; and Peter Dowben, Physics.
A scientific paper on the device presented by Robertson at a meeting of the International Society for Optical Engineering last week generated intense interest and invitations from U.S. national laboratories and European laboratories to present results and participate in research programs.
"This is something people have been trying to do for more than 38 years and haven't been able to accomplish," Robertson said. "We have invented this device and it works very, very well."
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