1. Radiation Detection & Measurements - 1
The topic of now discussion is “ ………………………..”
Day 3 – Lecture 3

2. Objective
To learn about different types of radiation detectors used in radiation protection

3. Contents
Detector Material
Detector Principles
Detector Types

4. Detectors
The detector is a fundamental base in all practice with ionizing radiation
Knowledge of the instruments potential as well as their limitation is essential for proper interpretation of the measurements

5. Detector Material
Any material that exhibits measurable radiation related
changes can be used as detector for ionizing radiation.
Change of colors
Chemical changes
Emission of visible light
Electric charge
Active detectors: immediate measurement of the change.
Passive detectors: processing before reading
Any material which shows measureable change when radiation fall/pass through it can be used as a radiation detector material. E.g. when radiation pass/on fall on the material may be its colour change, may some chemical changes take place, may be visible light emitts from the mateiral and may be electric charge produced in the material. So by using these behaviors of the materials against ionization radiations detectors may be fabricated to detect & measure the ionization radiations. Radiation detectors are of two type…………..

6. Detector Material
Any material that exhibits measurable radiation related
changes can be used as detector for ionizing radiation.
Change of colors
Chemical changes
Emission of visible light
Electric charge
Active detectors: immediate measurement of the change.
Passive detectors: processing before reading
Any material which shows measureable change when radiation fall/pass through it can be used as a radiation detector material. E.g. when radiation pass/on fall on the material may be its colour change, may some chemical changes take place, may be visible light emitts from the mateiral and may be electric charge produced in the material. So by using these behaviors of the materials against ionization radiations detectors may be fabricated to detect & measure the ionization radiations. Radiation detectors are of two type…………..

7. Detector Principles Gas filled detectors ionisation chambers
proportional counters
Geiger Müller (GM) - tubes
Scintillation detectors
solid
liquid
Other detectors
Semi conductor detectors
Film
Thermoluminescense detectors (TLD)
In some detectors Gas is used a detecting medium e.g. ……………….. And in some detectors scintillation is used as a detecting principle e.g ……….. scintillating. Some used semi conductor , film or TLD as detecting material. These are the some basic detector principles

8. Detector Types 1) Counters Gas filled detectors
Scintillation detectors
2) Spectrometers
Solid state detectors
3) Dosimeters
Thermoluminiscent detectors
Film
There are three types of detectors called counters, spectrometers & dosimeters, Gas filled detectors & scintillation detectors may be used as a counter. And scintillation detectors & solid state detectors may be used as spectrometers and similarly, gas filled detectors, solid state detectors, scintillation detectors, thermoluminiscent detectors, films may used as a dosimeters. We see that some detectors may be used for multipurpose as a counter or spectrometers or dosimeters .

9. Detector Types Effect Type of Instrument Detector Electrical
Ionizing Chamber
Proportional Counter
GM Tube
Solid State Detector
Gas
Semiconductor
Chemical
Film
Chemical Dosimeter
Photographic Emulsion
Solid or Liquid
Light
Scintillation counter
Crystal or Liquid
Thermo-
luminescense
Thermo - luminescense dosimeter
Crystal
Heat
Calorimeter
First column shows the behavior of detectors against ionization radiations. Either electric charge produced, chemical changes produced, visible light produced either thermoluminescense or heat produced when radiation pass/fall on the detecting material. 2nd column shows the types of instruments………….. And third column shows the detector medium used.

10. Gas Filled Radiation Detectors
These detectors consist of:
a gas filled tube
a positive electrode (anode) and negative electrode (cathode)

11. Regions Of Operation For Gas-filled Detectors
Gas filled detectors are operated in the regions mentioned here. We plot a graph b/w the applied voltage V and the current produced due to the collection of ion pairs at the respective electrodes. when the incident radiation pass through the gas tube, it ionize the gas molecules and produces ion pairs. Initially when the applied current is zero or minimum, the produced ions will not move towards the respective electrodes rather they recombine to form again neutral molecule. When we further increase the voltage to the electordes the ion pairs start to collect at their respective electrodes and current will pass through the circuit and show the indication of radiation. When further increase the applied voltage to the electrodes the increase in the current will be very small about negligible and from the curve you see that it is about flat region and this region is called saturation region or Ionization Chamber Region. Ionization chambers are operated in this region at normal mode. When we further increase the applied voltage, the electron when are coming towards the anode get so much k.E that they produced further ionization on their way towards the anode and as a result current in the circuit sufficiently increased. As the voltage is
increased still further, the threshold field at which gas multiplication begins is reached. The collected charge then begins to multiply, and the observed pulse amplitude will increase. Over some region of the electric field, the gas multiplication will be linear, and the collect-ed charge will be proportional to the number of original ion pairs created by the incident radiation. This is the region of true proportionality and represents the mode of operation of conventional proportional counters,

12. Ionization Chamber Simplest of all gas filled radiation detectors
An electric field (104 V/m) is used to collect all the ionizations produced by the incident radiation in the gas volume
In most ionization chambers, the gas between the electrodes is air.
The chamber may or may not be sealed from the atmosphere.
Many different designs for the electrodes in an ionization chamber, but usually they consist of a wire inside of a cylinder, or a pair of concentric cylinders.
Here are some important points about ionization chambers..

13. Ionization Chamber Electrometer Negative ion Positive ion + HV -
1234 HV -
The response is proportional to
ionization rate (activity, exposure rate)
Some genral properties of ionization chamber are
General Properties Of Ionisation Chambers
High accuracy
Stable
Relatively low sensitivity

14. Examples Of Ion Chamber
here are the snaps of different kinds of ion chambers.

15. Applications of Ion Chambers
Current Mode
Radiation Survey
Radiation Source Calibrator
Radioactive Gases Measurement
Pulse Mode
Counting
Alpha Spectroscopy
Ion chambers may be operated into two modes…………………

16. General Properties of Ionisation Chambers
High accuracy
Stable
Relatively low sensitivity

17. Problems With Ion-chambers
A basic problem with ionization chambers is that they are quite inefficient as detectors for x and gamma-rays.
Only a very small percentage (less than 1percent) of X- or gamma rays passing through the chamber actually interact with and cause ionization of air molecules.
for x and gamma- rays, their response changes with photon energy because photon absorption in the gas volume
detection efficiency and relative penetration of photons through the chamber walls both are energy-dependent processes
There are some problems with the ion chambers especially for X-ray and gamma measurements …………………..

18. Proportional Counter
Proportional counter are operated at an electric field strength 106 V/m for Gases at STP causing Avalanches
Applications
Low Energy X-Radiations
Neutron Detection
Spectroscopy

19. Gas Multiplication and Avalanche in Proportional Detector
The avalanche will stop after the electric field reduced to a threshold caused by the space charge of accumulated positive ions in the gas.
anode
an electron
cathode

20. Properties of Proportional Counter
Can be applied to situations in which the number of ion pairs generated by the radiation is too small to permit satisfactory operation in pulse-type ion chambers.
A little higher sensitivity than the ionisation chamber
Used for particles and low energy photons

21. GM Counters
When the electric field strength across a proportional counter is increased (> 106 V/m), the device enters a GM region of operation.
GM counter is gas-ionization device in which, the ionization effect creates a response which can be converted to an electrical output.
It is a gas-filled detector designed for maximum gas amplification effect.

22. GM Tube Structure
The center wire (anode) is maintained at high positive voltage relative to the outer cylindrical electrode (cathode).
The outer electrode may be a metal cylinder or a metallic film layer on the inside of a glass or plastic tube.
Some GM counters have a thin radiation entrance window at one end of the tube.
The cylinder or tube is sealed and filled with a special gas mixture, typically argon plus a quenching gas.

23. Fill Gases
Gases used in a Geiger tube must meet some of the same requirements as for proportional counters.
noble gases are widely used for the principal component of the fill gas in G-M tubes, with helium and argon the most popular choices.
A second component is normally added to most Geiger gases for purposes of quenching, the electron avalanches.

24. Uses of GM Tubes Simple, low cost, easy to operate
Pulse type counter that records number of radiation events
All energy information is lost-no ability to do spectroscopy
Dead time greatly exceeds any other commonly used radiation detector
It has a high sensitivity but has a lower accuracy.

25. Types of Geiger-Mueller (GM) Tubes

26. Scintillation Detectors
Scintillation is a means of detecting the presence of ionizing radiation
Ionizing radiation interacts with a scintillator which produces a pulse of light
This light interacts with a photocathode which results in the production of an electron
The electron is multiplied in a photomultiplier tube that has a series of focused dynodes with increasing potential voltage which results in an electrical signal

27. Scintillation Detectors
The number of counts is dependent on the activity that is present
The energy of the electron, and consequently the associated current is proportional to the incident energy of the ionizing radiation
By analyzing the energy and corresponding number of counts, the nuclide and activity may be determined

28. Scintillation Detectors
There are several types of Scintillator Detectors:
scintillator NaI (sodium iodide): restricted to the detection of the gamma;
plastic scintillator: solution of fluorescent compounds included in a transparent plastic material (gantry);
scintillator ZnS (Zinc Sulfide): used for the detection of alpha radiation

29. Scintillation Detector (alpha)
The alpha scintillator is typically zinc sulfide.

30. Alpha Scintillation Detector
The photomultiplier tube is located in the handle.

31. Scintillation Detection (photon)
This is a review of an earlier slide showing the photocathode and photomultiplier tube. This slide shows the use of the scintillation detector (typically this would be sodium-iodide, NaI) in a shielded counting system – this configuration is used in counting low levels of activity, such as environmental monitoring. In addition, it shows how lead X-rays end up creating a signal that is detected (although the graphic shows the lead X-ray heading for the PM tube). Lead x-ray interference may be reduced using a graded shield-the inside of the lead walls are shielded with cadmium (Cd), and next with a layer of copper (Cu). The cadmium absorbs the lead x-ray, while the copper absorbs any cadmium X-rays produced. The figure also shows how Compton backscattered photons are produced.

32. Spectral Analysis
Scintillation detectors, when used with a multichannel analyzer (MCA) provide information on the energy of a photon that has interacted with the detector as well as the activity present
The spectra can be analyzed to determine which isotopes are present

33. Thermolumniscent Dosimeter (TLD)
Thermoluminescence Mechanism:
Thermoluminescence is the emission of light from a crystal on heating, after removal of excitation (i.e. ionizing radiation).
Radiation dose causes the electrons in the crystal to move from low energy states to higher energy states.
Some of these excited electrons are trapped in metastable states
These photons can be collected with a photomultiplier tube.
By proper calibration, the dose delivered to the crystal can be measured.

34. Simplified scheme of the TLD process
Thermoluminescence dosimeters (TLDs) are crystals that can store some of the energy deposited by ionising radiation in a retrievable form. The figure illustrates the principle of Thermo , (one applies heat) Luminescence (and the crystal emits light) and Dosimetry (of which the intensity is related to the dose of ionizing radiation absorbed by the crystal prior to heating",).
While the emitted light is proportional to the absorbed radiation the proportionality constant varies with radiation energy, total dose, TLD material and - most difficult to account for - thermal history of the crystals. As such, TLD is mostly used as a relative dosimetric technique in which the dose to be determined is compared to a similar known dose given to the same or a similar TL detector. TLDs have the advantages of small physical size and that no cables are required during irradiation. As such they are particularly well suited for measurements within solid phantoms and in vivo dosimetry. The chief disadvantages are the delay between irradiation and the readout process and the complexity of the whole TLD set-up.

35. Thermoluminescence TLD principle
heating filament
emitted light
photomultiplier
thermoluminescent
material

36. TLD glow curves
Shown here is the fact that different trap depths lead to different temperatures required for freeing the electrons from the traps, leading to differnet glow peaks.

37. TL Dosimeters Following are few TL materials used as TL dosimeters.
LiF
Feldspars
CaF2
Quartz
CaSO4
Topaz
Li2B4O7
Diamond
KBr

38. TLD Advantages: Small size High sensitivity Integrating
Tissue equivalent
Disadvantages:
Time consuming
No permanent record

39. BF3 Neutron Detectors BF3 Tube Construction
Tube dimensions and geometry
Large size tubes at higher pressure of fill gas
Constructed of cylindrical geometry
Cathode
Al : low neutron absorption cross-section
SS : preferred over Al because Al show alpha activity

40. BF3 Neutron Detectors Ageing effect
Degradation in performance after operation of registered counts
Detection Efficiency
Efficiency decreases abruptly with increase of neutron energies
Dead spaces for charge collection reduce detection efficiency
Li have energy 0.84 MEV and Alpha have 1.47 MeV

41. Lithium Containing Slow Neutron Detectors
Neutron induced reaction is detected by lithium based scintillators
LiI(Eu) scintillator function like NaI(Tl) detector
Crystal size is greater than the range of reaction products, pulse height response is free of wall effect and a single is formed
Scintillation efficiency is almost same for heavy charged particles and secondary electrons
H-3 has energy 2.73 MeV whereas Alpha has energy 2.05 MeV

42. The 3He Proportional Counter
Design of 3He Tube
Diameter as large as possible
Pressure of 3He is increased to reduce range of charged particles
Add a small amount of a heavier gas to increase stopping power
H-3 has energy MeV and Proton has energy MeV.

43. Solid State Detectors
Solid State detectors are also called Semiconductor detectors
In these radiation detector, a semiconductor material such as a silicon (Si) or germanium (Ge) crystal constitutes the detecting medium.
In the detecting medium electron-hole pairs are produced when a particle of ionizing radiation pass through it
As a result a pulse of current generated is measured
Operation of HPGe detectors require Liquid Nitrogen

44. Solid State Detectors

45. Using Solid as Detection Medium
In many radiation detection applications, the use of solid medium is of great advantage
For high energy electrons and gammas, solid state detectors are much smaller than gas filled detectors
Energy resolution can be improved by increasing number of charge carriers – possible in semiconductors

46. Semiconductor Detectors
Desirable features of – (semiconductor diode detectors) or solid state detectors
Superior Energy Resolution
Compact Size
Fast Timing Characteristics
Effective Thickness – Can be varied according to the requirement
Semiconductor Materials
Silicon – Used for charged particle spectroscopy
Germanium - Used for gamma ray spectroscopy

47. Semiconductor Detectors
When a positive voltage is applied to the n-type material and negative voltage to the p-type material, the electrons are pulled further away from this region creating a much thicker depletion region
The depletion region acts as the sensitive volume of the detector
Ionizing radiation entering this region will create holes and excess electrons which migrate and cause an electrical pulse

48. Semiconductor Detectors
Reverse Bias
Intrinsic/Depletion Region
Cathode (-)
Anode (+)
+ +
- -

49. Semiconductor Detectors
Gamma rays transfer energy to electrons (principally by compton scattering) and these electrons traverse the intrinsic region of the detector e
(+)
(-)

50. Kodak Type 2 Radiographic Film
Film Badge Dosimeter
Open Window
0.8 mm Pb filter
Cu filters (0.05, 0.3 and 1.2 mm)
Kodak Type 2 Radiographic Film

51. Film Dosimeter
Film dosimeters (commonly known as film badges) consist of a piece of photographic film in a holder
The holder is fitted with a range of filters which allows us to distinguish between beta, x-ray, gamma and thermal neutron radiations and also allows determination of the personal dose equivalent for Hp(10), Hp(0.07) and Hp(3)

52. Film Dosimeter
By determining the degree of blackening (optical density) on the developed film and comparing it with calibrated films that have been exposed to known doses, it is possible to ascertain both the total dose received by the wearer and also the contribution to total dose by each type of radiation
The various filters used in film badges to ascertain whole body Hp(10), skin Hp(0.07) and eye Hp(3) doses are shown in the following Figure and Table

53. Film Dosimeter Filter Material Application
Open Window beta and very soft x-rays
Plastic (50 mg cm-2)  and x-ray dose and energy*
Plastic (300 mg cm-2)  and x-ray dose and energy*
Dural (0.040”)  and x-ray dose and energy*
Sn + Pb (0.028” 0.012”)  and x-ray dose and energy*
Cd + Pb (0.028” 0.012”) slow neutrons**
Lead (0.012”) edge shielding+
Indium (0.4 g) neutron accident monitoring
*quantitative determination of
** by gamma emitted after capture by cadmium
+to prevent overlap of film blackening due to angled incident radiation

54. Film Badge Dosimeter A - Plastic filter B to E - Metallic filters
Package
A - Plastic filter
B to E - Metallic filters
O - Open window A B C D E O
Film
Package
A - Plastic filter
B to E - Metallic filters
O - Open window

55. Film Badge Dosimeter
The density on the film results from three basic sources:
Base+Fog
Exposure
Black = exposed
White = not exposed
Al Filter
Pb Filter

56. Where to Get More Information
Cember, H., Johnson, T. E, Introduction to Health Physics, 4th Edition, McGraw-Hill, New York (2009)
International Atomic Energy Agency, Postgraduate Educational Course in Radiation Protection and the Safety of Radiation Sources (PGEC), Training Course Series 18, IAEA, Vienna (2002)