Dynasil Corp. [DYSL] says its Radiation Monitoring Devices subsidiary has received a $2 million contract from the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO) to advance its new nuclear threat detector materials. Dynasil says its crystal scintillator, optically coupled with a photo-detector, converts radiation to visible light to detect radiation and dangerous nuclear material. The company says its technology is highly sensitive and can differentiate between a broad range of threatening and non-threatening materials, thereby reducing false negatives. Dynasil says its “dual mode” detectors are designed to work without Helium-3, which is currently a key ingredient in radiation detection systems although it is in short supply, which is why DNDO is looking for alternative detection technologies. Dynasil’s contract includes $1.3 million to deliver the dual mode detectors, which can replace two separate nuclear detector systems for gamma radiation and for the neutrons from nuclear materials. The rest of the funding comes from Small Business Innovation Research grants for research and development on five new materials for nuclear threat detection.