The spectroscopic performance of current large-volume Cadmium 10% Zinc Telluride, Cd{sub 0.9}Zn{sub 0.1}Te, (CZT) detectors is impaired by cumulative effect of tellurium precipitates (secondary phases) presented in CZT single-crystal grown by low-pressure Bridgman techniques(1). This statistical effect may limit the energy resolution of large-volume CZT detectors (typically 2-5% at 662 keV for 12-mm thick devices). The stochastic nature of the interaction prevents the use of any electronic or digital charge correction techniques without a significant reduction in the detector efficiency. This volume constraint hampers the utility of CZT since the detectors are inefficient at detecting photons >1MeV and/or in low fluency situations. During the project, seven runs CZT ingots have been grown, in these ingots the indium dopant concentrations have been changed in the range between 0.5ppm to 6ppm. The I-R mapping imaging method has been employed to study the Te-precipitates. The Teprecipitates in as-grown CZT wafers, and after annealing wafers have been systematically studied by using I-R mapping system (home installed, resolution of 1.5 {micro}m). We employed our I-R standard annealing CZT (Zn=4%) procedure or two-steps annealing into radiation CZT (Zn=10%), we achieved the 'non'-Te precipitates (size < 1 {micro}m) CZT n+-type with resistivity > 10{sup 9-10} {Omega}-cm. We …

This report provides an overview of Bear Stearns, Examines the Fed's "rescue plan", and JP Morgan's subsequent agreement to acquire the firm.

This report consists of the budget for fiscal year 2009.

This report provides Regional Developments and Implications for U.S. Interests related to Central Asia.

This report discusses a new law, Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH), that the European Union (EU) began to implement On June 1, 2007.

This report includes a description of the Congressional Research Service and it's benefits to the American Legislative Process

This report provides an overview of each National and Community Service Act(NCSA) and Domestic Volunteer Service Act(DVSA) program and compares Corporation for National and Community Service(CNCS) funding from the FY2007 Appropriation, the FY2008 Appropriation, and the FY2009 budget request.

Since September 11, 2001, several bills introduced in the U.S. Congress have included provisions to assist emergency communications. Key provisions from a number of these bills have become law. This report discusses legislation addressing communications among first responders.

This report summarizes the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to- Know Act (EPCRA) and the major regulatory programs that mandate reporting by industrial facilities of releases of hazardous chemicals to the environment, as well as local planning to respond in the event of significant, accidental releases.

This annual report provides details on the research conducted at the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory in Fiscal Year 2007 and path forward for capability upgrades in Fiscal Year 2008.

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The unified estate and gift tax is levied on the transfer of assets that occurs when someone dies or gives a gift. Filing an estate tax return can be difficult depending on the value and complexity of the estate. The purpose here is to outline the mechanics of the estate and gift tax. The first section begins with a brief review of the general rules accompanied with a numerical example. There are some minor provisions of the law that are not discussed here, however, such as the phase out of the graduated rates and the credit for taxes on property recently transferred. The second section summarizes the special rules for farms and small businesses. And, the final section briefly describes the generation skipping transfer tax. The appendix of this report provides detailed data from returns filed in 2005, the latest year for which data are available.

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Foreign direct investment in the United States declined sharply after 2000, when a record $300 billion was invested in U.S. businesses and real estate. In 2004, according to preliminary data, foreigners invested about $100 billion. Foreign direct investments are highly sought after by State and local governments that are struggling to create additional jobs in their localities.

Laboratory work was completed on a set of evaporation tests designed to establish a feed envelope for the fractional crystallization process. The feed envelope defines chemical concentration limits within which the process can be operated successfully. All 38 runs in the half-factorial design matrix were completed successfully, based on the qualitative definition of success. There is no feed composition likely to be derived from saltcake dissolution that would cause the fractional crystallization process to not meet acceptable performance requirements. However, some compositions clearly would provide more successful operation than other compositions.

The Saltstone Disposal Facility (SDF), located in the Z-Area of the Savannah River Site (SRS), is used for the disposal of low-level radioactive salt solution. The SDF currently contains two vaults: Vault 1 (6 cells) and Vault 4 (12 cells). Additional disposal cells are currently in the design phase. The individual cells of the saltstone facility are filled with saltstone., Saltstone is produced by mixing the low-level radioactive salt solution, with blast furnace slag, fly ash, and cement or lime to form a dense, micro-porous, monolithic, low-level radioactive waste form. The saltstone is pumped into the disposal cells where it subsequently solidifies. Significant effort has been undertaken to accurately model the movement of water and contaminants through the facility. Key to this effort is an accurate understanding of the hydraulic and physical properties of the solidified saltstone. To date, limited testing has been conducted to characterize the saltstone. The primary focus of this task was to estimate the hydraulic and physical properties of MCU (Modular Caustic Side Solvent Extraction Unit) saltstone relative to two permeating fluids. These fluids included simulated groundwater equilibrated with vault concrete and simulated saltstone pore fluid. Samples of the MCU saltstone were prepared by the Savannah …

Conduct verification surveys of available grids at the David Witherspoon Incorporated 1630 Site (DWI 1630) in Knoxville, Tennessee. The IVT conducted verification activities of partial grids H19, J21, J22, X20, and X21.

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Clouds of low energy electrons in the vacuum beam pipes of accelerators of positively charged particle beams present a serious limitation for operation at high currents. Furthermore, it is difficult to probe their density over substantial lengths of the beam pipe. We have developed a novel technique to directly measure the electron cloud density via the phase shift induced in a TE wave transmitted over a section of the accelerator and used it to measure the average electron cloud density over a 50 m section in the positron ring of the PEP-II collider at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center.

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