Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “Detector development”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 163 records · Page 9
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2018

STROBE-X: X-ray Timing & Spectroscopy on Dynamical Timescales from Milliseconds to Years

We describe a probe-class mission concept that provides an unprecedented view of the X-ray sky, performing timing and 0.2-30 keV spectroscopy over timescales from microseconds to years. The Spectroscopic Time-Resolving Observatory for Broadband Energy X-rays (STROBE-X) comprises three primary instruments. The first uses an array of lightweight optics (3-m focal length) that concentrate incident photons onto solid state detectors with CCD-level (85-130 eV) energy resolution, 100 ns time resolution, and low background rates to cover the 0.2-12 keV band. This technology is scaled up from NICER [1], with enhanced optics to take advantage of the longer focal length of STROBE-X. The second uses large-area collimated silicon drift detectors, developed for ESA's LOFT [2], to cover the 2-30 keV band. These two instruments each provide an order of magnitude improvement in effective area compared with its predecessor (NICER and RXTE, respectively). Finally, a sensitive sky monitor triggers pointed observations, provides high duty cycle, high time resolution, high spectral resolution monitoring of the X-ray sky with approx. 20 times the sensitivity of the RXTE ASM, and enables multi-wavelength and multi-messenger studies on a continuous, rather than scanning basis. For the first time, the broad coverage provides simultaneous study of thermal components, non-thermal components, iron lines, and reflection features from a single platform for accreting black holes at all scales. The enormous collecting area allows detailed studies of the dense matter equation of state using both thermal emission from rotation-powered pulsars and harder emission from X-ray burst oscillations. The combination of the wide-field monitor and the sensitive pointed instruments enables observations of potential electromagnetic counterparts to LIGO and neutrino events. Additional extragalactic science, such as high quality spectroscopy of clusters of galaxies and unprecedented timing investigations of active galactic nuclei, is also obtained

STROBE-↗
NASA NTRS2019

STROBE-X: X-ray Timing & Spectroscopy on Dynamical Timescales from Milliseconds to Years

We describe a probe-class mission concept that provides an unprecedented view of the X-ray sky, performing timing and 0.2-30 keV spectroscopy over timescales from microseconds to years. The Spectroscopic Time-Resolving Observatory for Broadband Energy X-rays (STROBE-X) has three key science drivers: (1) measuring the spin distribution of accreting black holes, (2) understanding the equation of state of dense matter, and (3) exploring the properties of the precursors and electromagnetic counterparts of gravitational wave sources. To perform these science investigations, STROBE-X comprises three primary instruments. The first uses an array of lightweight optics (3-m focal length) that concentrate incident photons onto solid state detectors with CCD-level (85-130 eV) energy resolution, 100 ns time resolution, and low background rates to cover the 0.2-12 keV band. This technology is scaled up from NICER, with enhanced optics to take advantage of the longer focal length of STROBE-X. The second uses large-area collimated silicon drift detectors, developed for ESA's LOFT, to cover the 2-30 keV band. These two instruments each provide an order of magnitude improvement in effective area compared with its predecessor (NICER and RXTE, respectively). Finally, a sensitive sky monitor triggers pointed observations, provides high duty cycle, high time resolution, high spectral resolution monitoring of the X-ray sky with ~20 times the sensitivity of the RXTE ASM, and enables multi-wavelength and multi-messenger studies on a continuous, rather than scanning basis. The STROBE-X mission concept is a rapidly repointable observatory in low-Earth orbit, similar to RXTE or Swift, and will be presented to the 2020 Astrophysics Decadal Survey for consideration as a probe-class mission.

STROBE-X: X-ray↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

The International Space Station Lightning Imaging Sensor: Performance, Applications, and Cross-Platform Science

The Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS), an optically based lightning detector developed at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, was launched to the International Space Station (ISS) in February 2017, detecting optical signatures of lightning with storm-scale horizontal resolution (4-km) during both day and night. ISS LIS data are available 1 March 2017 to present. Millisecond timing allows detailed intercalibration and validation with other spaceborne and ground-based lightning sensors. Initial comparisons with those other sensors suggest flash detection efficiency around 60% (diurnal variability of 51-75%), false alarm rate under 5%, timing accuracy better than 2 ms, and horizontal location accuracy around 3 km. The spatially uniform flash detection capability of ISS LIS from low-Earth orbit allows assessment of spatially varying flash detection efficiency for other sensors and networks, particularly the Geostationary Lightning Mappers (GLMs). ISS LIS provides research data suitable for investigations of lightning physics, climatology, thunderstorm processes, and atmospheric composition, as well as realtime lightning data for operational forecasting and aviation weather interests. ISS LIS enables enrichment and extension of the long-term global climatology of lightning from space, and is the only recent platform that extends the global record to higher latitudes (± 55°). The global spatial distribution of lightning from ISS LIS is broadly similar to previous datasets, with globally averaged seasonal/annual flash rates (3-year average: ~44 s) about 5-10% lower. This difference is likely due to reduced flash detection efficiency that will be mitigated in future ISS LIS data processing, as well as the shorter ISS LIS period of record. The expected land/ocean contrast in the diurnal variability of global lightning is also observed. The near-realtime ISS LIS data make the instrument important to operational weather forecasting and related applications, including public safety. Finally, ISS LIS is demonstrating utility as part (or potential part) of cross-platform studies examining a diverse array of topics, including lightning physics, thunderstorm processes, convective precipitation, and atmospheric composition.

Timothy Lang↗
NASA NTRS2020

GPU Supported Simulation of Transition-edge Sensor Arrays

We present numerical simulations of full transition-edge sensor (TES) arrays utilizing graphical processing units (GPUs). With the support of GPUs, it is possible to perform simulations of large pixel arrays to assist detector development. Comparisons with TES small-signal and noise theory confirm the representativity of the simulated data. In order to demonstrate the capabilities of this approach, we present its implementation in xifusim, a simulator for the X-ray Integral Field Unit, a cryogenic X-ray spectrometer on board the future Athena X-ray observatory.

M Lorenz↗
DOE OSTI2022

Snowmass 2021 Cosmic Frontier White Paper: Cosmology with Millimeter-Wave Line Intensity Mapping

Next-generation tests of fundamental physics and cosmology using large scale structure require measurements over large volumes of the Universe, including high redshifts inaccessible to present-day surveys. Line intensity mapping, an emerging technique that detects the integrated emission of atomic and molecular lines without resolving sources, can efficiently map cosmic structure over a wide range of redshifts. Observations at millimeter wavelengths detect far-IR emission lines such as CO/[CII], and take advantage of observational and analysis techniques developed by CMB experiments. These measurements can provide constraints with unprecedented precision on the physics of inflation, neutrino masses, light relativistic species, dark energy and modified gravity, and dark matter, among many other science goals. In this white paper we forecast the sensitivity requirements for future ground-based mm-wave intensity mapping experiments to enable transformational cosmological constraints. We outline a staged experimental program to steadily improve sensitivity, and describe the necessary investments in developing detector technology and analysis techniques.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Artificial Intelligence for Event Reconstruction and Higgs Physics at CMS and Future Colliders

This dissertation charts a trajectory in which advances in artificial intelligence (AI) play a central role in pushing the high-energy physics frontier, complementing progress driven by higher collision energies and larger colliders. The discovery potential of the LHC and future colliders relies on accurate reconstruction of increasingly complex particle collision events. In the CMS experiment, this task is performed by the particle-flow (PF) algorithm. This dissertation presents the first implementation of a machine-learning-based particle-flow (MLPF) reconstruction in the CMS detector based on transformer architectures. In simulated top quark--antiquark pair (ttbar) events under LHC Run~3 (2023--2024) conditions, MLPF improves jet energy resolution by 10--20\% compared to standard PF for jets with transverse momentum between 30--100\GeV. Runtime performance is evaluated using simulated multijet events, with a median inference time of 20\unit{ms} per event on an NVIDIA L4 GPU, compa red to approximately 110\unit{ms} for standard PF. The MLPF algorithm is also validated on Run~3 collision data, representing the first data-validated ML-based reconstruction pipeline at any LHC experiment. We then extend MLPF toward future electron--positron colliders and introduce the first full-simulation cross-detector transfer learning workflow for PF reconstruction. The model is pre-trained on simulated events from the Compact Linear Collider detector (CLICdet) and fine-tuned on the CLIC-like detector (CLD) proposed for the Future Circular Collider (FCC). This approach achieves up to a 40\% improvement in jet energy resolution over rule-based reconstruction while reducing the required training dataset size by an order of magnitude, demonstrating the potential of AI to accelerate detector development and optimization. This dissertation also demonstrates how modern AI techniques enhance the sensitivity of LHC physics analyses. A CMS search for highly Lorentz-boosted Higgs bosons decaying to \textrm{W} boson pairs is presented, focusing on the single-lepton final state. A dedicated fine-tuning strategy for \ParT yields an approximately 70\% increase in expected sensitivity relative to the baseline model. The analysis uses proton--proton collision data at a center-of-mass energy of \ensuremath{\sqrt{s}=13\TeV} collected by CMS between 2016 and 2018, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138\ensuremath{\ \mathrm{fb}^{-1}}. The expected significance of the search is $1.86\sigma$, with an observed signal strength of $-0.19^{+0.48}_{-0.46}$. Finally, explainable AI techniques are applied to the MLPF and \ParticleNet algorithms using layerwise relevance propagation, showing that both models base their predictions on physically meaningful features consistent with our physics intuition. Together, these results demonstrate how advanced AI methods can enhance reconstruction, analysis sensitivity, and interpretability, shaping the next era of experimental parti cle physics.

Mokhtar, Farouk [UC, San Diego]↗
DOE OSTI2026

Helen Edwards Engineering Research Center

The new two-story facility is a critical element in support of Fermilab’s role as host laboratory for the international Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment and the Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility, providing space for engineering and detector R&D. The Edwards Center provides spaces for new endeavors such as liquid-argon detector development, the design of electronics, and chip development.

Fermilab, Fermilab↗
NASA NTRS1991

Development and testing of a superconducting link for an IR detector

The development and testing of a ceramic superconducting link for an infrared detector is summarized. Areas of study included the materials used, the electrical contacts, radiation and temperature cycling effects, aging, thermal conductivity, and computer models of an ideal link. Materials' samples were processed in a tube furnace at temperatures of 840 C to 865 C for periods up to 17 days and transition temperatures and critical current densities were recorded. The project achieved better quality high superconducting transition temperature material through improved processing and also achieved high quality electrical contacts. Studies on effects of electron irradiation, temperature cycling, and aging on superconducting properties indicate that the materials will be suitable for space applications. Various presentations and publications on the study's results are reported.

Caton, R.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Development of the MAMA Detectors for the Hubble Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph

The development of the Multi-Anode Microchannel Array (MAMA) detector systems started in the early 1970's in order to produce multi-element detector arrays for use in spectrographs for solar studies from the Skylab-B mission. Development of the MAMA detectors for spectrographs on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) began in the late 1970's, and reached its culmination with the successful installation of the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) on the second HST servicing mission (STS-82 launched 11 February 1997). Under NASA Contract NAS5-29389 from December 1986 through June 1994 we supported the development of the MAMA detectors for STIS, including complementary sounding rocket and ground-based research programs. This final report describes the results of the MAMA detector development program for STIS.

Timothy, J. Gethyn↗
DOE OSTI2025

Nucleon structure studies: DVCS on polarised protons with the CLAS12 experiment, and development of Micromegas detectors for EIC

The quark and gluon structure of nucleons is crucial for understanding the origin of their mass and spin. This information is encoded in structure function such as Generalised Parton Distributions (GPDs), which provide a three-dimensional picture of the nucleon in terms of its constituents. Deeply Virtual Compton Scattering (DVCS) offers the most direct access to GPDs, but their extraction requires high-precision measurements of multiple observables over a wide kinematic range. In 2022 and 2023 the CLAS12 experiment at Jefferson Lab (JLab) collected data from polarised electron scattering on a longitudinally polarised proton target, enabling the first measurement of polarised DVCS asymmetries at JLab 12GeV kinematics. This thesis will present preliminary measurement of the beam, target and double spin DVCS asymmetries from the CLAS12 polarised proton target data. Nucleon structure studies will also constitute a major part of the physics program at the future Electron Ion Collider (EIC). The development of the first detector at the EIC is ongoing and it requires light Micro-Pattern Gaseous Detectors (MPGDs) for its tracking system. This thesis further reports initial tests of Micromegas MPGDs with a two-dimensional readout developed for EIC.

Polcher, Samy [Univ. Paris-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette ↗
NASA NTRS2008

Development of Laser, Detector, and Receiver Systems for an Atmospheric CO2 Lidar Profiling System

A ground-based Differential Absorption Lidar (DIAL) is being developed with the capability to measure range-resolved and column amounts of atmospheric CO2. This system is also capable of providing high-resolution aerosol profiles and cloud distributions. It is being developed as part of the NASA Earth Science Technology Office s Instrument Incubator Program. This three year program involves the design, development, evaluation, and fielding of a ground-based CO2 profiling system. At the end of a three-year development this instrument is expected to be capable of making measurements in the lower troposphere and boundary layer where the sources and sinks of CO2 are located. It will be a valuable tool in the validation of NASA Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) measurements of column CO2 and suitable for deployment in the North American Carbon Program (NACP) regional intensive field campaigns. The system can also be used as a test-bed for the evaluation of lidar technologies for space-application. This DIAL system leverages 2-micron laser technology developed under a number of NASA programs to develop new solid-state laser technology that provides high pulse energy, tunable, wavelength-stabilized, and double-pulsed lasers that are operable over pre-selected temperature insensitive strong CO2 absorption lines suitable for profiling of lower tropospheric CO2. It also incorporates new high quantum efficiency, high gain, and relatively low noise phototransistors, and a new receiver/signal processor system to achieve high precision DIAL measurements.

Ismail, Syed↗
NASA NTRS1986

Development of passive radiation detectors of improved sensitivity

The future development of a solid track high energy particle detector is discussed. The goal is to improve the sensitivity and lower the threshold of the detector. One most widely used material for such purpose is a plastic commercially known as CR-39. A scheme is presented which involves changing the formula of the monomer, diethylene glycol-bis-allyl carbonate. This is to be accomplished by substituting some heteroatoms for H and substituting sulfur atoms for oxygen in the ether linkages. Use of a new plasticizer to make the etched surface clearer than what has been accomplished as of today is suggested. Possible improvement in acquiring better tracks and increasing the ratio of V sub T/V sub B was planned. This is to be accomplished by changing the composition of the etchants, etching time, and etching temperature.

Chakrabarty, M. R.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Development of the EXITE detector - A new imaging detector for 20 - 300 keV astronomy

The development and testing of a detector to be used in the Energetic X-ray Imaging Telescope Experiment (EXITE) are reported. It consists of a 34 cm diameter NaI(Tl) crystal coupled directly to a single large image intensifier tube with associated silicon PIN diode readout. The measured spatial and energy resolutions at 122 keV are 6mm (FWHM) and 9 percent (FWHM), respectively. This energy resolution is about 50 percent better than that of any previously flown hard X-ray experiment. These resolutions decrease with the square root of the energy of the incident X-ray, indicating that they are determined by the number of photons emitted in the NaI(Tl) scintillator light flash.

Garcia, M. R.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Status of direct detector and array development

Programs are now underway to develop and demonstrate the detector/array technology needed for the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF), Large Deployable Reflector (LDR), and other future NASA missions. The development goal is to achieve focal plane sensitivities, at extended integration times over the 2 to 700 microns range, limited only by the low astrophysical backgrounds encountered in cryogenic telescopes such as SIRTF. Dramatic progress has been made in the last 2 to 3 years in integrated array and detector systems for low background astronomical applications. With the broadly based developments and lab characterizations now underway for SIRTF and similar space applications, coupled with the rapidly expanding art and science of ground based astronomical imagery with arrays, the potential for effective utilization of arrays with LDR appears to be very good.

Mccreight, Craig R.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Development of a mercuric iodide solid state spectrometer for X-ray astronomy

Mercuric iodide detectors, experimental development for astronomical use, X ray observations of the 1980 Cygnus X-1 High State, astronomical had X ray detectors in current use, detector development, balloon flight of large area (1500 sq cm) Phoswich detectors, had X ray telescope design, shielded mercuric iodide background measurement, Monte Carlo analysis, measurements with a shielded mercuric iodide detector are discussed.

Vallerga, J.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Technology Developments for FIR Bolometric Detector Focal Plane Assemblies

A discussion of recent technology developments for far-infrared bolometric detector focal plane assemblies is provided. Some of the developments include strategies for fabricating high filling fraction background limited-transition edge sensor bolometric detectors, impedance-matched absorber coatings, a micromachined blackbody source, and the capability to fabricate indium bumps on non-planar substrates.

Detectors↗
DOE OSTI2024

Power over fiber development for HEP detectors

Power-over-Fiber (PoF) technology has been used extensively in settings where high voltages require isolation from ground and electromagnetic isolation is critical. In cryogenic environments, PoF offers a reliable power transmission technology, leveraging optical fibers to transfer power with minimal system degradation. PoF technology excels in maintaining low noise levels and isolation when delivering power to sensitive electronic systems operating in extreme temperature ranges and high voltage environments. Here, in a novel application of PoF for a HEP detector, power is provided to photon detector modules located on a surface at ~300 kV with respect to ground in the planned DUNE experiment. This summary paper of the PoF talk at the 16th PISA Meeting on Advanced Detectors highlights the R&D effort of PoF in extreme conditions and underscores its capacity to revolutionize power delivery and management in critical applications offering a dependable solution with low noise, optimal efficiency, and superior isolation. The DUNE (Abi et al., 2020) experiment will soon deploy large liquid argon (LAr) time projection chambers (TPC) to detect neutrino interactions and other particle physics phenomena. In addition to the particle tracking provided by the TPC, photon detectors, powered by a first ever PoF system, in the cryostat will leverage the high scintillation light yield of LAr to provide crucial timing and additional calorimetric information.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗