PNNL

Abstract

Compact maintenance free mechanical cooling systems are being developed to operate large volume (~570 cm3, ~3 kg, 140% or larger) germanium detectors for field applications. We are using a new generation of Stirling-cycle mechanical coolers for operating the very largest volume germanium detectors with absolutely no maintenance or liquid nitrogen requirements. The user will be able to leave these systems unplugged on the shelf until needed. The flip of a switch will bring a system to life in ~1 hour for measurements. The maintenance-free operating lifetime of these detector systems will exceed five years. These features are necessary for remote long-duration liquid-nitrogen free deployment of large-volume germanium gamma-ray detector systems for Nuclear Explosion Monitoring (NEM). The Radionuclide Aerosol Sampler/Analyzer (RASA) will greatly benefit from the availability of such detectors by eliminating the need for liquid nitrogen at RASA sites while still allowing the very largest available germanium detectors to be utilized. These mechanically cooled germanium detector systems being developed here will provide the largest, most sensitive detectors possible for use with the RASA. To provide such systems, the appropriate technical fundamentals are being researched. Mechanical cooling of germanium detectors has historically been a difficult endeavor. The success or failure of mechanically cooled germanium detectors stems from three main technical issues: temperature, vacuum, and vibration. These factors affect one another. There is a particularly crucial relationship between vacuum and temperature. These factors will be experimentally studied both separately and together to insure a solid understanding of the physical limitations each factor places on a practical mechanically cooled germanium detector system for field use. Using this knowledge, a series of mechanically cooled germanium detector prototype systems are being designed and fabricated. Our collaborators at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) will evaluate these detector systems on the bench top and eventually in RASA systems to insure reliable and practical operation.