WP4B_TlBr_IP_CFG_FINAL.pdf

White Paper_4B: Intellectual Property (IP) for Capacitive Frisch Grid (CFG) CDM (External)

Version 210104

(See White Paper_4A for Intellectual Property (IP) for the Pixelated Version)

Note: This White Paper was written by BTI with input from BNL and RMD.

Thallium Bromide Radionuclide Identification Device (TBRID) Project CWMD Contract No. 70RDND18C00000024 White Paper on Intellectual Property (IP) and Licensing Considerations

Overview of TBRID Development

The Thallium Bromide Radionuclide Identification Device (TBRID) is based on an array of thallium bromide (TlBr) devices made by Radiation Monitoring Devices (RMD), with performance optimized using a Capacitive Frisch Grid (CFG) position‐sensitive detector design and signal processing technique developed by Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) for readout. Signals from the array are processed using ASIC‐ based front‐end electronics, also developed by BNL. Spectral data are created in real time using software and electronics developed by Bubble Technology Industries (BTI). The TBRID combines RMD’s TlBr technology with BNL’s novel detector design and front‐end electronics and BTI’s expertise in system design.

CWMD has requested core detector modules (CDMs) that can be provided as Government‐furnished equipment (GFE) to third‐party vendors in order to widen the development of TlBr. Two versions of the CDM are under discussion: a “basic” CDM and a “high‐end” CDM. Both versions of the CDM would include one 4 × 4 array (16 TlBr crystals in total) per CDM. The basic CDM would include the array of CFG devices in a crate with leads/connectors carrying raw analog signals. The high‐end CDM would include not only the 16 CFG devices in a crate, but also an AVG3Dev ASIC, motherboard, single board computer (SBC), a simple mechanical enclosure, data transfer using Ethernet and/or USB, and a connection to AC power.

The AVG3Dev ASIC is an intermediate front‐end solution, designed and built by BNL, which provides an environment for hardware and software development. An overview of the components and data flow for the high‐end CDM using the AVG3Dev ASIC can be found below. Additional software could be provided on the SBC for data analysis, including implementation of algorithms developed at BNL that optimize the energy resolution by correcting the response of individual CFG devices using a 3‐D response matrix.

Software for radionuclide identification and user interface is not included and would be provided by the vendor receiving the CDM as GFE.

BTI will procure the TlBr devices from RMD with the required rights to permit the detectors to be incorporated into the CDMs and supplied to third‐party vendors under the TBRID project.

BNL Path to Licensing for Commercial Applications

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) laboratories and facilities perform world‐class fundamental research and applied R&D. Breakthrough technologies and scientific innovation often result in intellectual property (IP) that may support business and the transition of science to the marketplace. This IP is captured in patents and copyrights and the DOE laboratories and facilities eagerly work with companies to license such IP so that these technologies become products, services, and consumer goods that benefit the public. A licensing agreement is required to obtain commercialization rights to patented and/or copyrighted IP owned by the DOE’s national laboratories, including BNL. Within DOE, the Technology Transfer Working Group (TTWG) assists the national laboratories with licensing IP developed at each laboratory. IP developed at each laboratory is typically held and licensed by the laboratory where the technology was developed. The DOE laboratories annually develop more than 1800 new inventions, receive more than 400 U.S. patents, and execute more than 300 new license agreements. In September 2011, the DOE reported more than 3500 active license agreements from its laboratories and facilities.

The terms of each license agreement vary commensurately with the market value of each technology and the common licensing practices of the relevant industrial sector. Some of the more common terms include monetary terms, performance requirements, business plan requirements, field of use limitations, and exclusivity terms. All licenses of IP developed under federal funding must grant the U.S. Government non‐ exclusive rights to use such IP by or on behalf of the U.S. government. For the TBRID project, the goal is to transfer technologies from BNL to BTI so that BTI can provide CDMs to third‐party vendors without additional licensing burden on the third‐party vendor.

Rights for Use, Operation, and Fabrication Under the TBRID Project

The following section explains the rights for use, operation, and fabrication of the CFG TlBr CDM units under different procurement approaches.

Government Rights – As per FAR manual clause 52.227‐14, any data or product produced under the TBRID contract that is not covered by a previous data rights assertion will have unlimited Government rights to use, disclose, reproduce, prepare derivative works, distribute copies to the public, and perform publicly and display publicly, in any manner and for any purpose, and to have or permit others to do so for 10 years from end date of the TBRID contract.

Third Party Vendor Operating Rights – Third party vendors will have full operating rights for the CDMs, whether procured directly from the vendors or given to them as GFE from the Government. Third party vendors will be able to operate the modules and integrate them into other systems, as desired, for typical commercial purposes. Third party vendors will not automatically have the rights to the design of the components of the CDMs and will be restricted from reverse‐engineering the systems, unless separate commercial agreements are negotiated. This scenario is consistent with typical commercial supply terms, where the third party vendor is essentially procuring a component or assembly from a supplier. However, the team is open to supplying components of the CDMs (rather than the complete CDM), so that third party vendors have greater flexibility with regards to the design of their TlBr devices. For example, a third party vendor may wish to procure only the TlBr array and integrate this array with its own electronics.

Third Party Vendor Fabrication Rights – Fabrication rights for the complete CDM will not be immediately available, as the CDM contains designs and technologies with commercial value that are covered by previous data rights assertions. Fabrication rights could potentially be negotiated through a separate commercial agreement for part or all of the CDM. It is not expected that this will inhibit the development of TlBr‐based devices, as the flexibility provided under “Third Party Vendor Operating Rights” will allow third party vendors to procure and incorporate elements of the CDM design through typical commercial supply arrangements.