Patents by Inventor Michelle D. Pawel

Michelle D. Pawel has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Composite solid-state scintillators for neutron detection
    Patent number: 7105832
    Abstract: Applicant's present invention is a composite scintillator for neutron detection comprising a matrix material fabricated from an inorganic sol-gel precursor solution homogeneously doped with a liquid scintillating material and a neutron absorbing material. The neutron absorbing material yields at least one of an electron, a proton, a triton, an alpha particle or a fission fragment when the neutron absorbing material absorbs a neutron. The composite scintillator further comprises a liquid scintillating material in a self-assembled micelle formation homogeneously doped in the matrix material through the formation of surfactant-silica composites. The scintillating material is provided to scintillate when traversed by at least one of an electron, a proton, a triton, an alpha particle or a fission fragment. The scintillating material is configured such that the matrix material surrounds the micelle formation of the scintillating material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 7, 2004
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2006
    Assignees: UT-Battelle, LLC, Oak Ridge Associated Universities, University of Tennessee Research Foundation
    Inventors: Sheng Dai, Hee-Jung Im, Michelle D. Pawel