Radiation Detection and Measurement

Radiation

• Charged particles (αα, β, other ions)

• Neutral particles (neutrons)
• Electromagnetic radiation (γγ, x rays)

Detection
• Confirm the presence of radiation

Measurement
• Quantification of radiation
— Nature
— Energy
— Intensity

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Radiation Detection and Measurement
Detection systems : Different
Why so ?
α particles, β particles
Heavy ions, fission fragments

Neutrons

γ Ray photons
X-ray photons

Each interacts in a different way

with matter

That is why!!!
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Radiation Detection and Measurement

Typical Detector Configuration

Radiation Detector M
S

Grossly simplified steps

— Radiation falls, enters detector
— Radiation interacts with the
detector material (interaction of
radiation with matter)
— Charge carriers (signatures of
radiation) are produced
—The intensity is then measured

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Radiation Detection and Measurement

Types of radiation detectors

Depends on detector material

— Gas
— Liquid
— Solid

Depends on the radiation

— Heavy charged particles
— Light charged particles
— Neutral particles
— Electromagnetic radiation

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Radiation Detection and Measurement

Modes of detector Operation

Current mode

Detector I

Time average of current signal

I(t)

I0

Time dependent fluctuating t

component superimposed on steady

state signal
Random nature of radiation events
in the detector
Radiation dosimetry instruments

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Radiation Detection and Measurement

Modes of Detector Operation

Mean Square Voltage Mode

Squaring
Ion Chamber Averaging
Circuit

Steady state average current is

blocked
Fluctuating component is passed and
squared
(It – I0) is measured,squared and
integrated α rQ2/T
Used in mixed radiation
environments (neutrons and gamma
radiation)

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Radiation Detection and Measurement

Modes of Detector Operation

Pulse Mode

Detector C R V(t)

Time constant V(t) = R.I(t)

V(t)
RC <<< tc
tc
t

Current through R = Current flowing

in the detector
Mode useful for high event rates
when timing information and not
energy information is important

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Radiation Detection and Measurement

Pulse mode of detector operation

Time constant
RC >>> tc

tc
Vmax = Q/C
V(t)
t

Each pulse is the result of

interaction of a single radiation
within the detector

Pulse amplitude α Q
Q α Energy of incident radiation

(Capacitance assumed constant)

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Radiation Detection and Measurement

Advantages of Pulse Mode of

Operation

Each quantum of radiation is

detected as individual pulse signal
(Lower LOD set by background
radiation level)
Sensitivity far greater than that in
current mode
Each individual pulse amplitude
carries useful information (energy
of radiation)

Pulse mode is widely employed

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 Radiation Detection and Measurement
Intensity

Channel number

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 Radiation Detection and Measurement
Intensity

Channel number

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 Radiation Detection and Measurement
Intensity

Channel number

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 Radiation Detection and Measurement
Intensity

Channel number

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 Radiation Detection and Measurement

12
Intensity

Channel number

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 Radiation Detection and Measurement
Intensity

Channel number

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 Radiation Detection and Measurement
Intensity

Channel number

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Radiation Detection and Measurement

Applications of ion chambers

• Gamma ray exposure measurement
• Absorbed dose measurement
• Radiation survey instruments
• Radiation source calibrators
• Measurement of radioactive gases
• Smoke detectors

All are used in current mode operation

Charged particle spectroscopy

measurements require pulse mode

Advantages over semiconductor

detectors
Alpha spectroscopy 11.5 keV
resolution (Bertolini,NIMM
223(1984))

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Radiation Detection and Measurement

Applications of ion chambers

Gamma ray exposure measurements

Exposure: Amount of ionisation
charge created in air.
Air-filled ionisation chamber is
suited for this purpose.
Ionisation charge gives the measure
of exposure
Ionisation current indicates
exposure rate.

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Radiation Detection and Measurement

Applications of ion chambers

Absorbed dose measurement

Measurement of absorbed dose
Energy absorbed per unit mass of
material
Bragg-Gray Principle
Dm = WSmP
Dose measurements in biological
tissues:
Tissue equivalent ion chambers
with walls made from material
with similar composition as tissue

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Radiation Detection and Measurement

Radiation survey
meter

Closed air volume

Saturation current is measured using a
battery powered electrometer
Walls are air-equivalent (Al or plastic)

Measurement of radioactive gases

Radioactive gas (e.g. tritium) can
itself be filled gas
(Tritium ionisation chambers)

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Radiation Detection and Measurement

Proportional Counters

Gas-filled radiation detectors

Almost always operated in pulse mode
Gas multiplication to amplify the
signal due to original ion pairs
Hence small signals can also be
measured

Used in low-energy x-ray

spectroscopy
Alpha, beta, neutron detection

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Radiation Detection and Measurement
Fill gases
Gas multiplication is dependent on the
migration of electrons rather than
negative ions
(Negative ion formation should be
negligible)
Air is not suitable (Oxygen !!!)
Noble gase (Ar, Kr, Xe)
90%Ar + 10% CH4 (P-10 gas)
Low energy x-rays: Kr, Xe
Thermal neutrons: BF3, 3He
Fast neutrons: H2, CH2, He
Dosimetry (biological tissues):
64.4% CH4 + 32.4% CO2 + 3.2% N2
Ethylene to enhance Penning effect
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Radiation Detection and Measurement

Cathode

RL
Anode
wire V
- +
Charge collected : proportional to
the number of ion-pairs created by
the incident radiation
Multiplication needs high electric
field ε(r) V = voltage 2000 V

ε(r) = V a = anode radius 0.008 cm

r ln(b/a) b = cathode radius 1 cm

ε(r) = 50000 V/cm

Parallel plate geometry : 50000 V/cm

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Radiation Detection and Measurement

Counting curve
Count rate

α + β

Gas Gas

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Radiation Detection and Measurement

Geiger-Muller Counters

One of the oldest and third general

category of gas-filled radiation
detectors
Gas multiplication employed to
enhance the charge.
All pulses from a G-M counter have
same amplitude (history of the
radiation is lost).
G-M tube functions simply as a
counter of radiation induced events
and is not suitable for radiation
spectroscopy

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Radiation Detection and Measurement
G-M tube
R V(t) Signal

Fill Gases : Same as in the case of

proportional counters
Possibility of emission of electron
from cathode surface when positive
ions get neutralised
This electron triggers avalanche
Process repeats resulting continuous
pulses
Quenchers added to prevent this
Ethyl alcohol/formate or Cl/Br)

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Radiation Detection and Measurement

Dead Time in G-M Counters

+++++++++++++++++++
+++++++++++++++++++
+++++++++++++++++++
+ ve ions
massive drift
slowly
towards
cathode

Electrons
move fast
towards
anode wire
Anode wire
Cathode
Decrease in electric field below
critical point
Subsequent discharges cannot occur
Counter is “dead”
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Radiation Detection and Measurement

Dead time of a GM-Counter

Dead time
Recovery time

Dead time : Period between the initial

pulse and the time at which a second
pulse can be detected.
(a few hundreds of microseconds)
During dead time, any radiation
interactions within the detector are
lost (not detected)

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Radiation Detection and Measurement

Scintillation Detectors

One of the oldest radiation detection

techniques

(Rutherford’s α scattering experiment)

Ideal scintillation material

o High scintillation efficiency
o Linear conversion : Light output α
deposited energy
o Transparent medium to the
wavelength
o Short decay time for fast signal
generation
o Refractive index similar to glass
o Good physical properties

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Radiation Detection and Measurement

Scintillation detection systems

Organic scintillation detectors

Liquids Plastics
Fast response time
Fluorescence process independent of
physical state
Low light output, Low Z,
poor efficiency for γ
Inorganic scintillation detectors
ZnS NaI(Tl)
Best light output, best linearity,
High z, Good efficiency for γ
Long response time
Regular crystalline lattice for
fluorescence

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Radiation Detection and Measurement

Gamma ray detection and measurement

Three main types of interaction
Photoelectric absorption
Compton scattering
Pair production
All the three interactions lead to
different peaks in a gamma spectrum

Three types of hypothetical gamma ray

detectors
Small size (< 2 cm)
Large size ( > 10 cm)
Medium size ( >2 cm < 10 cm)

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Radiation Detection and Measurement

Small size detector

Photoelectric absorption
Detector

dN/dE

E
Compton scattering
Continuum
dN/dE

Edge

E
Double escape peak
dN/dE

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 Radiation Detection and Measurement

Large size detector

Detector

dN/dE

Medium size detector

Double escape peak

dN/dE

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Radiation Detection and Measurement

Gamma ray spectrum

Influence of surrounding material

2
3

1
4

3 4
2

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Radiation Detection and Measurement
Suggested Reading

1. Glenn F. Knoll, Radiation Detection

and Measurement, John Wiley &
Sons, New York
2. G.Friedlander, J.W.Kennedy,
E.S.Macias, and J.M.Miller,
Nuclear and Radiochemistry, John
Wiley & Sons, New York
3. R.D.Evans, The Atomic Nucleus,
Mc Graw Hill Inc., New York
4. S.S.Kapoor and V.S. Ramamurthy,
Radiation Detection and
Measurement, Wiley (Eastern),
New Delhi
5. H.J.Arnikar, Essentials of Nuclear
Chemistry, Wiley (Eastern), New
Delhi

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 Radiation Detection and Measurement

Usage of radiation detectors and

understanding of signal measurement

Detectors as simple counters

Number of pulses (signals) per unit time
No information about the radiation
(neither type nor energy but only the
intensity)

Detectors in pulse mode

Pulse (signal) amplitude (height [volts])
distribution
Useful to deduce information about the
incident radiation (type, energy as well
as intensity)

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 Radiation Detection and Measurement

Detectors as simple counters

Example: G-M counter
Each pulse is registered as a signal
output (counts)
Count rate is measured
Operating voltage is found out by
establishing counting plateau
Counting rate

Plateau

No energy information. All are counted

and bunched together

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Radiation Detection and Measurement
Detectors in pulse mode
Each pulse amplitude (height) carried
important information about the incident
radiation
(Type, energy and strength)
Pulse amplitude information is obtained
by differential pulse height distribution

Detector has a facility to accept only

pulses of certain amplitude (height)
(Pulse height discriminator)
This is a variable discriminator
H4

dN
dH
H3
H1 H2 H5
H
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Radiation Detection and Measurement
H4

dN
dH
H3
H1 H2 H5
H
Typical pulse height spectrum

dN/dH has no physical significance

Number of pulses between H1 and
H2 is given by
H2 Integral gives
dN dH
∫ dH
number of pulses
under the curve
H1
For mono-energetic radiation, a line is
expected. But broad peak is seen.
Why?
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Radiation Detection and Measurement

Thank you

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