Prairie View A&M University Center for Applied Radiation Research

Fall 2011 GNEG5193-038 Special Topics

Space and Terrestrial Radiation Effects on Materials and Devices

Dr. Richard Wilkins Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Lecture 6: Radiation Experiments and Facilities

From last time. Space Radiation Environment Summary

All operational space environments must take GCR and solar protons (wind, storm, flare) into account. Missions in Earth orbit must consider the trapped radiation environments.

http://msis.jsc.nasa.gov/sections/section05.htm

Radiation Experiments
Now that we have some idea of the aerospace radiation environments and how to do radiation measurements, we will consider methods of designing meaningful radiation experiments. Types of experiments -Radiation tolerance: Material degradation, device damage, single event effects -Shielding: Human protection, instrumentation -Radiation dosimetry: Needed for first two -Radiation physics: Experiments to validate models We will concentrate on the first three and briefly discuss the fourth. Considerations: 1. What environment (s) is (are) most relevant? 2. How long will the mission be? What radiation dose is expected? 3 How much radiation damage do we need to tolerate? 4. What is our budget? 5. How reliable do things have to be? 6. Other?

Radiation Experiments
While there have been some long term materials exposure on the ISS, and monitoring of radiation dose, conducting radiation experiments in space is largely impractical with the time and costs involved. Time: Low flux requires long (order of years) exposures. Cost: About $1,000/lbs. just to get it to ISS. Solution: Use ground based particle accelerators to perform experiments. Flux much higher, costs within reason. Particle accelerators can be VERY big, depending on the energies desired.

Student prepares to run experiment at the NASA Space Radiation Lab at Brookhaven National Lab.

Particle accelerators at BNL. RHIC is about 2.4 miles in circumference.

Radiation Experiments
Particle accelerators produce intense beams of high energy particulate radiation. These are large facilities with complex instruments, usually requiring a large staff for operation and maintenance. They produce a variety of charged and uncharged (neutrons) particles with a wide range of energies. Charged particle beams are usually monoenergetic, with one energy value during a particular experiment. For a particular particle type, this energy can be varied from experiment to experiment through a range of values that depends on the capabilities of the facility. The particle flux (#particles/unit area/unit time) can also usually be varied within some specified range. Neutron beams will consist of particles with a range of energies (characterized by an energy spectrum). Particle accelerators have the general effect of compressing time: For example: At the neutron beam we use at Los Alamos, one hour exposure to the beam is equivalent to 300,000 hours at 40,000 feet.

Particle Accelerator Basics: Use electric fields to accelerate particles. Use magnetic fields to focus particles to create and direct beams of particles. Electrostatic Acceleration: Metal Electrodes

Positively charged particles

Additional electrodes downstream

Additional electrodes upstream

Radio Frequency (RF) Generator

As shown, the positively charged particles are repelled by the positive electrode and attracted to the negative electrode. The particles will gain kinetic energy according to the magnitude of the electrical potential between the electrodes. The RF generators are timed so that the sign of the potential on the electrodes either accelerates the pulse of positive particles away from the electrode after it has passed through it, or accelerate the pulse if it is moving toward the electrode. The electrodes can be thought to give the pulse a kick or pull as it travels down the accelerator.

Particle Accelerator Basics (cont.): Use electric fields to accelerate particles. Use magnetic fields to focus particles to create and direct beams of particles. Example, quadrapole magnet for focusing protons: Imagine a beam of protons into the page.

Protons in plane defined by the green line have a magnetic force toward the center. Protons in the plane defined by the red line have a magnetic force away from the cent.

Proton s into page

You can use a set of carefully arranged quadrapoles in series to focus the proton beam.
Magnetic quadrapoles.

http://eucard.web.cern.ch/EuCARD/activities/communication/public/magnets.html

I. Point and Shoot Samples are evaluated before and after irradiation and against control samples (Samples that are in the same environment but not exposed to the beam.) Measurements taken ex situ (after exposure) only.
Outcomes: Material and device characteristics. Advantage: Relatively Easy. Disadvantage: Short term effects may be missed. (Sometimes this is OK for space related experiments as the flux in space is very low compared to the beam.

Typical Radiation Experiments

Beam
Material Sample

Parametric Analyzer

II. Electronic Device Tests Samples are evaluated both in situ and ex situ. Samples are compared to pre-irradiation characteristics and control samples. Outcome: Radiation tolerance data and information on damage mechanisms.

Beam
Device Under Test (DUT) Board

Typical Radiation Experiments

Intervening Material

III. Shield Evaluation and Dosimetry Beam Instrumentation is used to measure the effects of intervening Proportional Counter materials. Currently we are using a set of material equivalent proportional counters (Materials: Tissue, silicon, carbon, lead, and bone). Proportional counter measures radiation dose and dose equivalent. Other radiation instrumentation can be used to study the constituents of the resulting radiation field produced by the interaction of the beam with the material target. Outcomes: Fundamental information on how intervening materials affect electronic and biological systems response to incoming radiation. Engineering information on materials effectiveness as a radiation shield Fundamental information on how intervening materials affect electronic and biological systems response to incoming radiation.

Radiation Facilities
Heavy Ions Protons Flash X-Ray Gamma

Neutrons Heavy Ions High Energy Protons

Ground-based experiments are performed at various radiation facilities. Our group at PVAMU has extensive experience at the following facilities:

The Cyclotron Institute of Texas A&M University The Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE) NASA Space Research Laboratory (NSRL) The Proton Synchrotron at Loma Linda Medical University The Heavy Ion Medical Accelerator (HiMAC) in Chiba, Japan Survivability, Vulnerability and Assessment Directorate at White Sands Missile Range (Weapons environment.)

Different facilities are used depending on the radiation environment that is to be simulated.

Point and shoot experiments

Example: Nanoelectronics (PrivaTran Inc., Austin, TX, Rice University, PVAMU) Radiation Source: Co-60 gamma source at White Sands Missile Range, NM Dose Rate: 174 rad(Si)/sec Total dose: 303 krad(Si) and 3.0 Mrad(Si) long term space doses Experimental time: About 7 hours.

Control Not irradiated Nanoelectronic Samples

303 krad (Si) 3.0 Mrad (Si)

Note the radiation induced darkening of the glass slides holding the samples. Darkening due to gamma rays knocking Si atoms out of place in the glass creating color centers

Electronic effects monitored during irradiation.

TAMU cyclotron, proton flux about 1x107p/cm 2/sec

Radiation Effects on Functionalized Nanotubes

Functionalized CNT network between two gold electrodes.

Data shows changes in the electrical resistivity of two networks of cellulose functionalized SWNT as a function of time & proton fluence (#protons/cm2). (1)= Begin 30 MeV proton irradiation. (2)= End of 30 MeV proton irradiation. (3)=Begin 10 MeV proton irradiation. (4)= End 10 MeV proton irradiation. Non-functionalized tubes showed no distinct response. J. Phys. Chem. C 113, 14467 (2009).

Radiation Shielding Experiment at NSRL 1000 MeV/n 56Fe ions

Materials: Aluminum, High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) Common Spacecraft Materials Phenolic Impregnated Carbon Ablator (PICA), Fully Dense Carbon Phenolic (FDCP) Exotic Materials

Targets Heavy Ion Beam TEPC

(a)

(b)

Shielding Study: 1000 MeV/u Fe ion Absorbed Dose

0.060 0.050 0.040 0.030 0.020 0.010 0.000 0.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0
HDPE Carbon Phenolic Pica Aluminum Poly. (HDPE)

(Gy/Particle/cm2)

Absorbed Dose

Density Thickness (g/cm2 )

Adsorbed dose (a) and Dose Equivalent (b) behind different density thicknesses of the materials.
(Density thickness = Material density x thickness of shield.)

(a)
Dose Equivalent
1.60 1.40

(Sv/Particle/cm )

HDPE Carbon Phenolic Pica Aluminum Poly. (HDPE)

1.20 1.00 0.80 0.60 0.40 0.20 0.00 0.0 5.0 10.0 15.0
2

Note that the HDPE does a better job of fragmenting the iron ions than the Al. The thicker Al thus enhances the dose relative to the HDPE.

Dose Equivalent

20.0

25.0

Density Thickness (g/cm )

(b)

Radiation Facilities We Use NASA Space Radiation Lab (NSRL)

Heavy Ion and Protons Relevant to GCR

Proton Energies: 200 2500 MeV Heavy Ion Energies: Up to 1000 MeV/u Let range: 0.21 239 keV/micron 109 1010 ion/spill, about 1 spill/4sec Beam Maximum area with uniform square beam profile: 20 cm x 20 cm. It is a user facility.

Radiation Facilities That We Use

High Energy Neutrons The LANSCE facility produces broad spectrum collimated neutron beams with energy components from 1 800 MeV Relevant to atmospheric neutrons & spacecraft interiors*
Los Alamos Neutron Science Center

*Alterations in Dose and Lineal Energy Spectra Under Different Shieldings in the Los Alamos High-Energy Neutron Field, G. D. Badhwar, H. Huff and R. Wilkins, Radiation Research, Vol. 154, 697 (2000).

Radiation Facilities That We Use

High Energy Neutrons
Los Alamos Neutron Science Center LANSCE is a spallation neutron source: High energy, high flux proton beam hits a tungsten target. The protons cause protons and neutrons to spallate from the tungsten nucleus. Spallation neutrons and protons

Tungsten target Proton Beam 30o left 30L

Different angles will have different neutron energy spectra. Typical Experimental Set-up at the 30L ICE House
Spallation Neutron Source 40 Meter Flight Path
~1.5 meters

Experimental Area ICE House

Neutron beam

Sweep Magnet (removes charged particles)

Fission Chamber

Proportional Counter

Radiation Facilities That We Use

30 L Neutron Spectrum
1.00E+09

Differential Neutron Flux (N/(cm2*hr*MeV))

1.00E+08 1.00E+07 1.00E+06 1.00E+05 1.00E+04 1.00E+03 1.00E+02 1 10 100 1000

Atmospheric Flux (Multiplied by 3E5) Flux at LANSCE ICE House Facility

Neutron Energy (MeV)

Other Radiation Facilities That We Use PROTONS:

LEO, Trapped protons, solar protons 10-40 MeV
Note vacuum chamber. Protons with energies this low have a range of a few cm in air.

40-250 MeV Solar particle event can be simulated at Loma Linda.