Ph.D. Work

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Ph.D. Work

A gamma-gamma coincidence setup developed as part of my Ph.D. work. The spectrum shows coincidence of positron annihilation events from a 22Na source placed between two detectors.

Ph.D Dissertation

The goal of this thesis is to design, develop, and deploy equipment along with novel experiments with high instructional value essential for research and education in the field of nuclear radiation physics. This field is largely constrained by high equipment prices driven by a shortage of indigenous intellectual property as well as local manufacturing, and as a consequence gets minimal hands-on instruction in the vast majority of science institutions across India. We have compiled a list of essential equipment critical for tackling this challenge, and have developed the necessary detector technology, electronics designs, and complementary firmware and software code to keep costs at a minimum. Additionally, our designs have been validated with experiments with pedagogical value performed using the final devices. The key instruments developed are a USB powered multi-channel analyzers(MCA) for measuring energy spectrum, Alpha Particle and Gamma Ray spectrometers with signal processing electronics, and a Gamma-Gamma coincidence measurement setup. Addition- ally, a detector array, and a portable cellphone powered gamma spectrometer design has also been explored. The significance of this study lies in the completeness of the developed instruments including technical and scientific documentation, and their demonstrated ability to be deployed to universities for teaching and research.