Lunar EVA Dosimetry: MIcroDosimeter iNstrument (MIDN) System Suitable for Space Flight

Completed TRL 5 (started at 3, targeting 5)

Description

MIDN PROTOTYPE FLIGHT INSTRUMENT 1. Based on our experience with the MIDN development, we designed and developed an advanced version of the instrument. 2. A prototype was developed that although did not include all of the specifications was able to achieve with a 10 um thick sensor a dE/dx ~ 3 keV/um in silicon that is equivalent to a lineal energy of ~1 keV/um in tissue. BENCHTOP DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM 1. By designing and constructing a new Faraday cage that houses the sensor and preamplifier circuit, upgrading the signal transmission circuitry between the system and the data acquisition area, and designing a new data acquisition method, we were able to reduce the inherent noise level well below a keV/micron, allowing detection of the peak of the dose distributions for minimum ionizing protons, the most difficult particles to detect microdosimetrically. 2. In collaboration with the M. Sivertz and A. Rusek at BNL, we have developed a system that allows identification of incident particles, categorized them according to their mass-to-charge ratio and energy, and correlated them with individual events in the microdosimeter. Recall that our earlier work in this regard resulted in our identifying lighter ion contaminants in the beam and their contributions to the microdosimetric spectra, a fact that we subsequently learned was known to BNL personnel. 3. We measured the energy deposited in a microdosimeter with radiation beams of Carbon at 290 MeV/n and protons at 1 GeV/n, 600 MeV/n, 250 MeV/n, 100 MeV/n, and 50 MeV/n at the NSRL facility at the BNL and achieved a lower energy cutoff of < 1 keV/um in silicon equivalent to a lineal energy cutoff in tissue of < 0.3 keV/um. ADVANCED SENSOR DEVELOPMENT 1. We now have prototypes of a new design of a solid-state microdosimeter with three dimension micron sized sensitive volumes, addressing some of the shortcomings identified earlier. This sensor was developed at the Centre for Medical Research Physics, and a new grant (Australian Research Council Discovery Project) was recently received by our collaborator to further support this project. 2. We have established collaborations with the EE (electrical engineering) departments at Johns Hopkins University (JHU) to explore the potential of developing alternative silicon sensors. These new sensors will be developed as part of our follow-on grant from the NSBRI. 3. With minimal support, JHU was able to supply us with two dies that have a variety of diodes for preliminary testing. A test fixture was developed to carry out tests, and measurements of alpha particles were successfully conducted. RADIATION TRANSPORT CODES 1. We imported the radiation transport code GEANT4 and two corollary programs MULASSIS (multilayered shielding simulation software tool) and GEMAT. These Monte Carlo codes allow us to simulate the microdosimetry spectra in silicon devices. 2. We also have access to the MCNPX (Monte Carlo N-Particle eXtended) radiation transport code.

Benefits

Microdosimetric techniques are perhaps the only experimental methods for actively determining the radiation quality of mixed or unknown radiation fields and their dose equivalent. Likewise, the compact nature of a solid-state microdosimeter along with its low voltage and low power consumption and remote telemetry makes such a device ideal for in-situ personnel monitors as well as area monitors. The radiation quality and the corresponding dose equivalent and/or effective doses form the basis of regulatory dose limits both in the U.S. and internationally as well as the basis for the evaluation of potential overexposures. Generally, in radiation fields with average quality factors greater than one, those radiation components with the highest quality may represent a component of the dose comparable to the dose uncertainty. For example, as the energy of x-ray therapy machines increases to accommodate intensity modulated radiotherapy and other new techniques, the contributions of secondary neutrons produced in the shielding materials to the whole-body exposure of the clinical personnel as well as the patients themselves increase. With a quality factor as high as 20, a one or two percent neutron component can contribute as much as 20 to 30 percent of the dose equivalent. Likewise, in radiation storage and clean-up, it is the dose equivalent or effective dose, not the physical absorbed dose, that determines the need and level of clean up, yet it is the physical dose that is usually measured because of the difficulty in measuring dose equivalent in the field by personnel who are not experts in microdosimetry. Finally, the detection of radiation emitted by nuclear materials that may be used in terrorist activities requires cheap, reliable, and rugged microdosimeters that can determine small changes in the radiation environment and issue reliable alerts in real time. The use of prior methods is limited in part because of the complexity, sensitivity, and lack of reliability of the most commonly used instruments, gas proportional counters. The compact system that we have developed for space applications would likewise be applicable for these situations and measurements described in the previous paragraph. We have established for the first time in a solid-state microdosimeter a lowered energy cutoff of dE/dx < 1 keV/um in silicon that is equivalent to a lineal energy cutoff of < 0.4 keV/um in tissue. Thus we have an instrument that can be used in space and terrestrially to directly assess regulatory risk.

Details

Technology area	Human Health, Life Support, and Habitation Systems > Radiation > Monitoring Technology
Program	Human Research Program (HRP)
Lead organization	Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX
Start date	2004-08-01
End date	2008-12-01

Project contacts

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Vincent L Pisacane
Anatoly Rozenfeld
Francis A Cucinotta — francis.a.cucinotta@nasa.gov
James M Ziegler
John Dicello
Marco Zaider
Martin Nelson — martin.nelson-1@nasa.gov

How to get involved

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