Detector Prototype for Enhanced Borders and Ports Security presented at NATO Gala Ceremony
At today's gala ceremony on the occasion of the sixtieth anniversary of the NATO Program Science for Peace and Security (SPS), the E-SiCURE project research team had the honour to present the project results and detector prototype to NATO officials. This is one of the biggest projects under NATO SPS program in Croatia for the development of sophisticated cargo control detector in maritime ports and the detection of special nuclear materials.
The main objective of the project ''Engineering silicon carbide for enhanced borders and ports security'' (E-SiCURE) is to combine theoretical, experimental and applied research towards the development of radiation-hard SiC-based detectors of special nuclear materials (SNM). This will be achieved through material manipulation processes in order to control defects responsible for detection efficiency limitations.
''Given that only a few projects are invited to this prestigious event, this is certainly a great honour for our project team. Besides presenting the detector prototype to NATO officials, this is an excellent opportunity to explore further potential initiatives,'' said Dr Ivana Capan, Project Manager.
Along with the development and research of innovative detectors that will be able to respond to challenges posed by ever more complex geopolitical risks and nuclear threats as well as increased transport in seaports, the added value of this project are the stipends for young researchers.
In addition, a new experimental technique, "Minority Carriers Transient Spectroscopy" is being built and developed in the Laboratory for Semiconductors.
The RBI researchers conduct this project in cooperation with renowned international partners - the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization (AUS), the University of Aveiro (Portugal), the National Institutes of Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology (Japan) and the Jožef Stefan Institute (SLO).
The potential end-user of such a detector in Croatia would be the Customs Administration (CU), which is also a partner in this project, who will have the opportunity to test the use of detectors in detection of special nuclear materials in real terms.
