Neutrino Detector Development at MIT

Massachusetts Institute Of Technology, Cambridge MA

Investigators

Abstract

This award will provide funds for a study of the use of cadmium-based quantum dots suspended in scintillator oil as an active target for neutron detection. Quantum dots are semiconductor nanocrystals that are highly efficient fluorophores. The emission wavelengths are tunable by the size of the dot and have widths of about 25 nm. Most dots are constructed of cadmium, with CdS and CdSe dots the most common. Cd has a high cross section for neutron absorption, second only to gadolinium. The goal is to study how a Cd-based quantum dot target will respond when neutrons are captured. At present, a large scale detector doped with quantum dots is far too expensive to construct; however, the expanding market for quantum dots, especially in the biological and medical industries, is expected to drive the cost down significantly. This project aims at building the first small quantum-dot-based neutron detector. The broader impact of this award arises largely from the opportunity it affords minority students to obtain hands-on hardware experience. This project also involves students from the MIT Summer Research Program for minorities who will create webpages, so that the interest and excitement of the R&D can be shared with the public.