Radiation Detectors Ppt Download
Tempie Baerg
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For those who work with or around radiation, one of the most important factors is an awareness of the levels of radiation around them. This is primarily accomplished through the use of radiation detectors of varying types. A basic understanding of the different types of detectors out there and how they work can go a long way both to finding the best detector for the required task and also for maximizing the benefits of operating that detector.
Since the early days of radiation testing by Roentgen and Becquerel, scientists have sought ways to measure and observe the radiation given off by the materials they worked with. One of the earliest means of capturing any sort of data from radioactivity was a photographic plate. A photographic plate would be placed in the path/vicinity of a radioactive beam or material. When the plate was developed, it would have spots or be fogged from the exposure to the radiation. Henri Becquerel used a method similar to this to demonstrate the existence of radiation in 1896.
Another common early detector was the electroscope. These used a pair of gold leaves that would become charged by the ionization caused by radiation and repel each other. This provided a means of measuring radiation with a better level of sensitivity than was reliably possible using photographic plates. Depending on the arrangement of the device, they could be configured to measure alpha or beta particles, and were a valuable tool for early experiments involving radioactivity.
These early devices, and many others, such as cloud chambers, were valuable in developing an understanding of the basic principles of radiation and conducting important experiments that set the stage for later developments. This included development of new types of radiation detectors, many of which are still in use today, such as G-M Tubes, Ion Chambers, and Scintillators.
An important part of knowing what type of detector to use is to have an idea of how and where it will be used. Different applications and settings call for different types of detectors, as each detector type has various ways it can be specialized to fit a role. The applications for radiation detection instruments can be broadly categorized into a few different core tasks: measurement, protection, and search.
Radiation measurement tasks are for situations where there is a known presence of radioactive materials which need to be monitored. The goal with this type of detection is awareness. Awareness of the strength of an established radioactive field, the boundaries of a radioactive area, or simply of the spread of radioactive contamination. These are settings where the presence of radiation is expected, or at least considered likely. The requirements for detectors involved in these settings are unique, often with relatively higher measurement ranges or with modifications needed to specifically look for one type of radiation.
Radiation search differs from the other two basic categories of radiation detection applications in that it is predicated both on the fact that radiation is not expected in the area, and the desire to keep things that way. Primarily the goal of radiation security personnel, first responders, or groups such as customs & border inspectors, radiation search has a different set of requirements to mirror the significantly different circumstances in which it takes place. Detectors need to be highly sensitive, with the concern being more about smaller, concealed radioactive sources or materials. Spectroscopy is often very helpful as well, since it is typically a small subset of radioactive isotopes that are of concern, and being able to filter those out that are present due to legitimate reasons such as medical treatment or just an accumulation of a naturally occurring radioactive substance is important.
When talking about radiation detection instruments, there are three types of detectors that are most commonly used, depending on the specific needs of the device. These are: Gas-Filled Detectors, Scintillators, and Solid State detectors. Each has various strengths and weaknesses that recommend them to their own specific roles.
The first type of radiation detector, gas-filled detectors, are amongst the most commonly used. There are several types of gas-filled detector, and while they have various differences in how they work, they all are based on similar principles. When the gas in the detector comes in contact with radiation, it reacts, with the gas becoming ionized and the resulting electronic charge being measured by a meter.
The different types of gas-filled detectors are: ionization chambers, proportional counters, and Geiger-Mueller (G-M) tubes. The major differentiating factor between these different types is the applied voltage across the detector, which determines the type of response that the detector will register from an ionization event.
However, ion chambers are unable to discriminate between different types of radiation, meaning they cannot be used for spectroscopy. They can also tend towards being more expensive than other solution. Despite this, they are valuable detectors for survey meters. They are also widely used in laboratories to establish reference standards for calibrations.
Gas amplification means that the original ions created by the reaction with a photon of radiation causes further ionization reactions, which multiply the strength of the output pulse measured across the detector. The resulting pulse is proportional to the number of original ion pairs formed, which correlates to the energy of the radioactive field that it is interacting with.
The makes proportional counters very useful for some spectroscopy applications, since they react differently to different energies, and thus are able to tell the difference between different types of radiation that they come into contact with. They are also highly sensitive, which coupled with their effectiveness at alpha and beta detection and discrimination, makes this type of detector very valuable as a contamination screening detector.
The second major type of detectors utilized in radiation detection instruments are Scintillation Detectors. Scintillation is the act of giving off light, and for radiation detection it is the ability of some material to scintillate when exposed to radiation that makes them useful as detectors. Each photon of radiation that interacts with the scintillator material will result in a distinct flash of light, meaning that in addition to being highly sensitive, scintillation detectors are able to capture specific spectroscopic profiles for the measured radioactive materials.
Scintillation detectors work through the connection of a scintillator material with a photomultiplier (PM) tube. The PM tube uses a photocathode material to convert each pulse of light into an electron, and then amplifies that signal significantly in order to generate a voltage pulse that can then be read and interpreted. The number of these pulses that are measured over time indicated the strength of the radioactive source being measured, whereas the information on the specific energy of the radiation, as indicated by the number of photons of light being captured in each pulse, gives information on the type of radioactive material present.
This depletion zone acts like the detection area of an ion chamber. Radiation interacting with the atoms inside the depletion zone causes them to re-ionize, and create an electronic pulse which can be measured. The small scale of the detector and of the depletion zone itself means that the ion pairs can be collected quickly, meaning that the instruments utilizing this type of detector can have a particularly quick response time. This, when coupled with their small size, makes this type of solid state detector very useful for electronic dosimetry applications. They are also able to withstand a much higher amount of radiation over their lifetime than other detectors types such as G-M Tubes, meaning that they are also useful for instruments operating in areas with particularly strong radiation fields.
Personal radiation detectors, or radiation pagers, are small electronic devices used to detect the illicit transport of radioactive materials by providing an indication of elevated radiation levels. These devices are designed to be worn by responders during screening and inspection operations.
Although many radioactive materials are silver-colored, metallic solids in their pure state, they can vary in color and exist in different physical states, including liquids and gases. They are also physically indistinguishable from other (nonradioactive) metals. In addition, ionizing radiation is not detectable by one's senses. It cannot be seen, heard, smelled, tasted, or felt. For these reasons, simple visual inspection is insufficient to identify radioactive materials, and radiation sources can be virtually impossible to recognize without special markings. To address these problems, scientists have developed the following four major types of instruments to detect and identify radioactive materials and ionizing radiation:
A PRD is a wearable gamma and/or neutron radiation detector, approximately the size of a pager. When exposed to elevated radiation levels, the device alarms with flashing lights, tones, and/or vibrations. Most PRDs numerically display the detected radiation intentisty (on a scale of 0 to 9) and, thus, can be used to locate a radiation source; however, they typically are not as sensitive as handheld survey meters and cannot identify the type of radioactive source.
As the name implies, the survey meter is a handheld radiation detector, which typically measures the amount of radiation present and provides this information on a numerical display in units of counts per minute, counts per second, or microroentgen (µR) or microrem (µrem) per hour. Most of these devices detect beta and gamma radiation only. However, some models can detect alpha, beta, gamma, and/or neutron radiation emitted from radioactive materials.
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