Dakota Needs A Phy$ic$ PhD ThisYea:r 2/15/2012 1 ~ ~ Where We - - PDF document

Physics PhD Presentation

Wednesday, February 15, 2012 7:59 AM

2/15/2012

Advancing Science While Pursuing Profit

Why South

Dakota Needs

A Phy$ic$ PhD

ThisYea:r

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Where We are Now

• Graduate Students and the SURF

~

USD collaborations and the hours demanded

~ 2nd class workers

• SD has invested in the SURF

~ What does the State get back? ~ How can that happen?

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Research at USD

• Approaching Maturity Now

~

Ultra-pure germanium through zone refining

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Research at USD

Germanium Crystal Growth

2/lS/2012 Photo from UMICORE.com

Germanium crystals grown at USO

Each crystal weighs about 1kg

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Research at USD

Is there really a Market for Germanium crystals?

• China Dark Matter Experiment (1-ton)
• GEODM in US (1-ton)
• SuperCDMS in US ("'30 kg)

Just in Research

US consumption of Germanium crystal products in 2010 was"' 25,000 kg.

Retail on each crystal is"' $12,000 each. Commercial production is estimated initially at 300 crystals a year- $3,600,000 annually if production does not ramp up, but, the sales tax revenue on just the projects listed above would be"' $974,000

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Research at USD on the Near Horizon

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Germanium Detectors They're not just for science anymore.

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Research at USD on the Near Horizon

Germanium Based Solar Cells

From Dr. Khizar's November presentation:

• Best large area Si-based solar cell:"" 22%
• Upper limit efficiency: 33%

Multi-junction (MJ) solar cell

• Maximum thermodynamically achievable efficiencies are increased to 50%,

56%, and 72% for stacks of 2, 3, and 36 junctions with appropriately

• ptimized energy gaps

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Thermal Diffusion

• Experimental design and theory dates back to

the 30's

• Famously used in the Manhattan Project
• Found to be inferior for heavy elements like

uranium

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S-50 Plant (Oak Ridge, TN)

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Fast Forward

• Re-discovered in the mid SO's
• Shown to be effective for separating noble gasses

such as Hydrogen, Helium, Neon, Argon

• Few scientific uses for large quantities of

isotopically pure gasses at that time

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New Demand for Liquid Nobles

• Neutrino/Dark matter detectors
• LBNE

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• Being built at 4850' level in

Sanford Lab

• Has chosen LAr as a target

material for neutrino interactions

• Requires 34,000 tons of

ultra-purified LAr

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What's in it for South Dakota?

• A perfect application for thermal diffusion
• $20.4M for 34 Kton LAr
• Includes delivery (adds 33% to cost)
• Leaves $13M in possible sales to LBNE from a

South Dakota Business

• About $500,000 in sales tax to the state from

just this one project.

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Gas Separation Process

• Copper pipe surrounded by

a water jacket

• Gas mixture fills the copper

pipe

• Electrically heated wire
• The lighter molecules are

driven toward the hot wire, where they enter the rising convection current and are concentrated near the top

• f the column
• Capable of enriching Ar by a

factor of 1000

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::old 'all

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5 column thermal diffusion test bench

Currently work is progressing on building an automatic 5 column system.

• Understand throughput of enriched Ar

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Research a Little Farther Out

• Majorana Ovl3l3 decay Experiment (1-ton)
• Requires crystals grown from Ultra-pure 76Ge

76Ge refined to >99%: From ORNL: $25,000,000/kg From Russian source: $99,990/kg (If we go get it...)

• Wait! That's $99,990,000.
• 76Ge is 7. 7% of natural Germane
• There are 53g 76Ge/ kg Ge02;"' 19kg to produce 1kg 76Ge
• Ge02 costs"'$1300/kg; "'$24,

700/kg 76Ge

• One Tonne wi ll cost"' $24,700,000

... for one raw material

• "'$5,000,000 annually for five years for the raw materials.
• By-product is "'12kg GeH4 depleted of 76Ge
• Current cost of GeH 4: $5500/2.Skg= $26,400 GeH4 /12kg
• We could sell $26,400,000 GeH4 generating $1,056,000 sales tax revenue
• We could sell raw 76Ge to Majorana for $50,000/kg generating $2,000,000

sales tax revenue

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Research a Little Farther Out

USD Experimental Column

• . Will produce data for design of

commercial scale unit

. Data taking will be complete by

1/1/2013

. We expect to learn how to produce

large quantities of 73Ge, the most commercially desirable of the isotopes

. Logical next step in research is a test of

the new column design for scalability and through put.

• Chillers graduate with Ms Physics May
• f'13

. Applications to Graduate school due

Dec to Febl, Before the Legislature can make a decision

. We are not unique

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Joint Appropriations Committee

Summation

Su = SP+C

....... . Success= Speed+ Continuity Undiscovered Physics? South Dakotas share depends

• n quality Students and Highly motivated researchers

The Window is Closing Questions?

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