Bulletin of the American Physical Society
APS April Meeting 2013
Volume 58, Number 4
Saturday–Tuesday, April 13–16, 2013; Denver, Colorado
Session D13: Nuclear Science and Security: Research at Minority Serving Institutions |
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Sponsoring Units: COM DNP Chair: Jolie Cizewski, Rutgers University Room: Plaza Court 2 |
Saturday, April 13, 2013 3:30PM - 4:06PM |
D13.00001: DOE's Minority Serving Institutions Partnership Program: Building a Sustainable Pipeline Invited Speaker: Dimitri Kusnezov We set out to build a sustainable pipeline between the Department of Energy sites and Minority Serving Institutions in areas of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), starting this year with Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The program is built around the concept of sustainability. This program is targeted at the intersection of DOE site interests and MSI goals. It will be sufficiently flexible in its organization to reflect the unique regional priorities that Universities have in faculty research and developing STEM disciplines and skills, and DOE site targets for research and critical skill development. The main elements of the consortium approach will be outlined, from K-12, MSIs, DOE sites and Industrial partners, together with the potential metrics for measuring progress. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, April 13, 2013 4:06PM - 4:18PM |
D13.00002: A Multi-layered target for the Study of Neutron-Unbound Nuclei Paul Gueye, Nathan Frank, Michael Thoennessen The MoNA/LISA setup at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory at Michigan State University has provided an avenue to study the nuclear structure of unbound states/nuclei at and beyond the neutron drip line for the past decade using secondary beams from the Coupled Cyclotron Facility. A new multi-layered Si/Be active target is planned to be built to specifically study neutron unbound nuclei. In these experiments the decay energy is reconstructed from fragment-neutron coincidence measurements which are typically low in count rate. The multi-layered target will allow the use of thicker targets to increase the reaction rates, thus enabling to study currently out of reach nuclei such as 21C, 23C, and 24N. A description of the new setup and physics impact will be discussed. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, April 13, 2013 4:18PM - 4:30PM |
D13.00003: Novel Surface Preparation and Contacts for CdZnTe Nuclear Radiation Detectors Using Patterned Films of Semiconductors and Insulators Arnold Burger, Michael Groza, Adam Conway, Steve Payne The semiconductor Cadmium Zinc Telluride (CZT) has emerged as the material of choice for room temperature detection of X-rays and gamma-rays. The detectors will cover the energy range from 30 keV to several MeV, and will achieve excellent 662 keV energy resolution. The development of high resolution gamma ray detectors based on CZT is dependent on low electronic noise levels. One common source of noise is the surface leakage current, which limits the performance of advanced readout schemes such as the coplanar grid and pixelated architectures with steering grids. Excessive bulk leakage current can result from one of several surface effects: leaky native oxides, unsatisfied bonds, and surface damage. We propose to fabricate and test oriented [111] CZT crystals with thicknesses up to 1.5 cm with an innovative detection technique based on co-planar or other electron only transport designs using plasma processing, thin film sputtering, chemical passivation and wet etching techniques. Compared to conventional pixel detectors, the proposed contact configuration needs lower power consumption and a lower cost. The detector design can be used for building very low-cost handheld radiation detection devices. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, April 13, 2013 4:30PM - 4:42PM |
D13.00004: Tungsten - Yttrium Based Nuclear Structural Materials Chintalapalle Ramana, Jack Chessa, Gustavo Martinenz The challenging problem currently facing the nuclear science community in this 21st century is design and development of novel structural materials, which will have an impact on the next-generation nuclear reactors. The materials available at present include reduced activation ferritic/martensitic steels, dispersion strengthened reduced activation ferritic steels, and vanadium- or tungsten-based alloys. These materials exhibit one or more specific problems, which are either intrinsic or caused by reactors. This work is focussed towards tungsten-yttrium (W-Y) based alloys and oxide ceramics, which can be utilized in nuclear applications. The goal is to derive a fundamental scientific understanding of W-Y-based materials. In collaboration with University of Califonia -- Davis, the project is designated to demonstrate the W-Y based alloys, ceramics and composites with enhanced physical, mechanical, thermo-chemical properties and higher radiation resistance. Efforts are focussed on understanding the microstructure, manipulating materials behavior under charged-particle and neutron irradiation, and create a knowledge database of defects, elemental diffusion/segregation, and defect trapping along grain boundaries and interfaces. Preliminary results will be discussed. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, April 13, 2013 4:42PM - 4:54PM |
D13.00005: Synthesis of scintillating metal organic frameworks for the detection of radiation from subatomic particles Conrad Ingram, Michael Williams The objective of this research is to develop fluorescent metal organic frameworks (MOFs) as scintillation materials for more efficient light output and detection of ionizing radiation, such as neutrons, alpha particles or gamma rays, generated by fissile materials. MOFs are multidimensional porous structures, which are synthesized from the covalent bonding of metal ions or metal oxide clusters with organic ligand linkers, such as benzene dicarboxylates. The ligands will be chosen to have fluorescent characteristics, when excited by radiation or energetic sub-atomic particles. We will explore the synthesis of new MOFs, containing carboxylate ligands with unique conjugated chromophores, such as, benzene-1,3,5-triyltris(ethene-2,1-diyl)) tribenzoic acid and 9-hydroxy-9-vinyl-9H-fluorene-2,7-dicarboxylic acid), and doped with heavy metal as triplet-state harvesters, that we are proposing will result in stronger and possibly, unique luminescence spectral features that will allow for the discrimination between different ionizing radiations from subatomic particles. Photo-, catho- and radio-luminescence studies will be conducted on the materials, and radiation mechanism(s) will be investigated. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, April 13, 2013 4:54PM - 5:06PM |
D13.00006: On the Radiochemical Separations of the Beta-emitting Fission Products Zheng Chang, Ralf Sudowe This research aims at developing fast and effective radiochemical procedures for separation of the beta-emitting fission products that are difficult to analyze by gamma-spectrometry. Post-detonation analysis, as one of the major tasks of nuclear forensics, can provide crucial information for identification of the explosion levels, fuel sources, and industrial processes of a nuclear device. However, a dozen of radionuclides with high fission yields such as Zr-93, Tc-99, Sr-90 are either pure beta-emitters or only emitting gamma-rays that are difficult to analyze. Although the analysis of these radionuclides was thoroughly studied, samples from unknown nuclear detonations can be complicated by the number of fission products, radioactivity levels, sample matrices, and time limits for analysis. The challenge facing the forensic analysis should not be underestimated. A sequential separation procedure is designed to analyze the major beta-emitting fission products. Radiochemical techniques such as solvent extraction, precipitation, and column chromatography are utilized. The procedure will be tested and improved by experiments. The final procedure should be capable of analyzing the fission products under various sample conditions effectively and rapidly. [Preview Abstract] |
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