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Title:	Proof of principle for electronic collimation of a gamma ray detector
Authors:	Environmental Quality and Installations Program (U.S.) Furey, John S. Morgan, Cliff. Davis, Austin V.
Keywords:	Radiation Waveforms Detection Instruments Equipment Gamma rays Electronic Collimation
Publisher:	Environmental Laboratory (U.S.) Engineer Research and Development Center (U.S.)
Description:	Technical report Purpose: This note describes the initial development of an electronic collimation technique that uses the characteristics of the detector waveforms to infer the directionality of gamma rays. This note documents some of the key points in achieving the proof of principle of the technique, which is intended to be further developed. A gamma ray detector system utilizing electronic collimation should be far more portable and/or deployable than previous systems using conventional collimation with heavy shielding materials. This research was performed to satisfy a component technology requirement for the Environmental Toolkit for Expeditionary Operations. In order to detect, discriminate, and locate radiation sources in the environment, the sensor was required to be lightweight, cheap, and operate on a small self-contained power source. Furthermore, the sensor was required to be able to communicate across a mesh-network of similar radiation sensors to send critical data back to an environmental data platform. During development of the sensor system, it became clear that proving the viability of electronic collimation would meet the sensor requirements by: (1.) reducing the weight of the sensor by removing a physical collimator, (2.) provide directionality of radiation sources for stationary sensors as well as moving sensors, and (3.) enable the use of lower cost and more efficient radiation sensors suitable for high energy spectroscopy in the field. Work described here demonstrates the feasibility of electronic collimation in this context and provides an epistemological foundation for completing the final sensor platform.
Rights:	Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.
URI:	http://hdl.handle.net/11681/3694
Appears in Collections:	Technical Note