The Department of Energy's Advanced Sensors and Instrumentation (ASI) program foster collaborations across national laboratories, universities, and U.S. companies, recognizing notable accomplishments in the development of instrumentation and control technologies, some of which are highlighted in its newsletter. Alphacore is privledged to be recognized for its achievements to extend next-generation sensors for nuclear physics experimentation.
Alphacore’s Radiation-Hardened Cameras:
When it comes to a camera’s radiation tolerance, the image sensor is generally the most sensitive component. While a non-radiation-hardened complex metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor can have very low inherent radiation tolerance (i.e., 3 kilorad, based on Co-60 radiation tests performed by Alphacore), cameras used for nuclear energy applications face significantly higher radiation doses—ranging from hundreds of megarads (Mrad) to gigarads (Grad). Therefore, Alphacore’s approach centers on a custom designed, radiation-hardened CMOS image sensor for operating within the harsh environments of nuclear energy research. Alphacore’s Vulture and Falcon high-frame-rate video cameras can operate in high temperature, high-pressure, and high radiation environments. This approach enables the use of low-cost, easy-to-use CMOS technology for such imaging applications, and is a break-through product that can potentially accommodate completely new forms of research in nuclear energy, nuclear and high-energy physics, defense nuclear reactor engineering, and many other fields.
The novel video camera will significantly improve the state of the art of cameras used in nuclear energy research.
