This is an SBIR Phase I award for investigation of the construction of a particle detector using a high temperature superconductor. The new material will be utilized to fabricate a superconducting tunnel junction device, anticipated to operate at temperatures attainable by a relatively modest commercial closed cycle refrigerator. At the present, nuclear radiation detectors with extremely good energy discrimination have been developed, but they must be operated within about 1 degree of absolute zero. If successful, this sensor would represent a major advancement in the art of radiation sensors. It would find immediate use in many critical fields presently limited by sensor performance.
