A -- SINGLE-WIRE PROPORTIONAL COUNTER FOR X-RAY IMAGING

LAWRENCE LIVERMORE NATIONAL LABORATORY SEEKS LICENSEE TO COMMERCIALIZE SINGLE WIRE X-RAY DETECTOR TECHNOLOGY Announcement: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), operated by the University of California under contract with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), desires to license the technology to build a single wire x-ray detector. LLNL has a new technology for building an x-ray detector. This technology provides a detector which can image individual x-rays with a MHz count rate over a large area with high spatial resolution (x-y position) and high quantum efficiency. The design also allows the device to measure the x-ray energy. The device uses a simplified design compared to current technology, and this design results in a detector which is simple to build, operate, and maintain. The new x-ray detector uses a novel implementation of the gas-proportional counter technology. The detector uses two single wire grids to form an anode and a cathode. An x-ray causes an electrical discharge in the fill gas to the anode. The resultant electrical pulse travels to both ends of the wire. Since an electrical pulse travels at approximately 1 foot per nanosecond, the device can use the difference in the time of arrival of the pulses to determine the position of the electrical discharge. The anode consists of wire wound side to side with a spacing of 1 mm. The cathode plane is below the anode plane and uses a printed circuit board with a very fine single wire grid ( as fine as 50 micrometers) which is orthogonal to the anode grid. This results in an x-y position measurement which is very fine in one dimension and coarser in the other dimension. To determine the energy of the x-ray, the detector uses the sum of the two pulses coming from the single wire. The resulting energy resolution is in the tens of percent. The proportional counter x-ray detectors which are currently sold on the commercial market use delay lines, multiple ground planes, and multi-wire technology, which are expensive and technically complicated. The new technology results in a much simpler design. This design promises to have a higher degree of integral linearity and faster count rate than current proportional counter detectors. Note: THIS IS NOT A PROCUREMENT. Companies interested in commercializing LLNL's single wire x-ray detector should provide a written statement of interest, which includes the following: 1. Company Name and address. 2. The name, address, and telephone number of a point of contact. 3. A description of corporate expertise and facilities relevant to commercializing this technology. Written responses should be directed to: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Industrial Partnerships and Commercialization P.O. Box 808, L-795 Livermore, CA 94551-0808 Attention: FBO000055-03 Please provide your written statement within thirty (30) days from the date this announcement is published to ensure consideration of your interest in LLNL's single-wire x-ray detector.