A mercuric detector system for X-ray Astronomy, J.V. Vallerga, R.K. Vanderspek, and G.R. Ricker, II
Type
Label
A mercuric detector system for X-ray Astronomy, J.V. Vallerga, R.K. Vanderspek, and G.R. Ricker, II
Language
eng
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (page 16)
resource.governmentPublication
federal national government publication
Illustrations
illustrations
Index
no index present
Literary form
non fiction
Main title
A mercuric detector system for X-ray Astronomy
Nature of contents
bibliographytechnical reports
Responsibility statement
J.V. Vallerga, R.K. Vanderspek, and G.R. Ricker
Series statement
NASA-CR-175329
Summary
"To establish the expected sensitivity of a new hard X-ray telescope design, an experiment was conducted to measure the background counting rate at balloon altitudes (40 km) of mercuric iodide, a room temperature solid state X-ray detector. The prototype detector consisted of two thin mercuric iodide (HgI2) detectors surrounded by a large bismuth germanate (Bi4Ge3O12) scintillator operated in anticoincidence. The bismuth germanate shield vetoed most of the background counting rate induced by atmospheric gamma-rays, neutrons and cosmic rays. A balloon-borne gondola containing a prototype detector assembly was designed, constructed and flown twice in the spring of 1982 from Palestine, Texas. The second flight of this instrument established a differential background counting rate of 4.2 O.7 x 10-5 counts sec cm keV over the energy range of 40 to 80 keV. This measurement was within 50 of the predicted value. The measured rate is approx 5 times lower than previously achieved in shielded NaI CsI or Ge systems operating in the same energy range. The prediction was based on a Monte Carlo simulation of the detector assembly in the radiation environment at float altitude."--NTIS abstract