AN Experimental Investigation of Nuclear Radiation Effects on Radar Receiver Components

Three ceramic tube 60-megacycle i-f amplifiers and one X-band mixer-preamplifier assembly were operated in the vicinity of a 3 megawatt nuclear reactor for a total of 300 megawatt hours, and their characteristics were monitored to determine the effects of nuclear radiation. There wrere essentially no changes in the characteristics of the i-f amplifiers throughout the test with a total integrated neutron flux of 2.8 × 1016 neutrons/ cm2 (Energy greater than 0.3 Mev) and a gamma dose of 3 × 1010 ergs/gm(C). The mixer-preamplifier operated with no noticeable changes to a total integrated neutron flux of 4 × 1015 neutrons/cm2 (Energy greater than 0.3 Mev) and gamma dose of 5.5 × 109 ergs/gm(C). Various degrees of degradation in crystal performance, gain, and noise characteristics were experienced throughout the remainder of the test.