47
Next-Generation
Visible Light Photon Counters--Lawrence
Semiconductor Research Laboratory, Inc., 2300 West Huntington Drive, Tempe, AZ
85282-3130; 602-438-2300
Dr.
McDonald Robinson, Principal Investigator, mac-robinson@lsrl.com
Dr.
Lamonte Lawrence, Business Official, montelawrence@compuserve.com
DOE
Grant No. DE-FG03-01ER83261
Amount:
$99,916
Visible
light photon counters, fabricated several years ago for high energy physics
research, showed significant promise as compact, high gain, high-efficiency
detectors in the wavelength range from 400 to 850 nm.
However, the counters suffered from significant variations in gain.
This project will develop next generation visible light photon counters
with improved properties, including much narrower gain dispersion.
In addition, the capability to use wafers of six-inch diameter will be
developed, and the expected higher yields should allow for a significant cost
reduction in the fabrication of these visible light photon counters.
Phase I will design an improved visible light photon counter in
sufficient detail to define epitaxial layer requirements, develop the process to
grow the epitaxial structure, characterize the layers grown, and grow product
wafers that will be used to fabricate the first round of devices in Phase II.
Commercial
Applications And Other Benefits
as described by the awardee: In addition to providing high performance, the
visible light photon counters should be significantly more cost effective than
alternative photomultiplier tubes. In
combination with plastic scintillators, applications include electromagnetic and
hadronic calorimetry, shower max detectors, preshower detectors, photon vetos,
large scale neutrino detectors, muon hodoscopes, and high resolution tracking
systems.