Chapter 12

Thermal and Radiation

Measurement
Photons:
IR (thermal), Visible, UV, soft X-ray, Hard X-ray, Gamma ray

Charged particles:
Low energy electrons, high energy electrons, heavy ions
Neutrons:
Cold neutrons, Thermal neutrons, Fast neutrons

Major detectors for continuous measurements:

1. Ion chamber (by current)
2. Faraday cup (by current)
3. Thermopile (by temperature)
4. Charge Coupling Device (CCD); Imaging plate
Detectors can be operated in pulse mode:
1. Gas proportional counter
2. Electron multiplier tube or MCP
3. Scintillation detector + PMT(Photo-Multiplier Tube
4. Semiconductor detector (P-N junction in reversed
bias)
Current type: for high intensity flux only
How low the current can be measured today?
Pulse type: for low counting rate only
How is the highest counting rate today?

12 Nuclear Radiation Measurement

Detection of Nuclear Radiation

pulse mode and current mode

12.7 Detection of Nuclear Radiation

pulse mode and current mode

Pulse height Vmax= Q/c

The Q in each pulse can be measured

For solar
radiation

Solar constant
1395 w/m2

Solar simulator AM0.0 above atmosphere

AM1.0: perpendicular ( at sea level) AM1.5: 45 degrees(at sea level)

Radiometer
with thermopile sensor

Thermopile: thermocouples in series

Radiometer with thermistor

Compensate
Temperature drift
By the differential input
Focussing intensity
Noise reduction
By lockin chopper frequency
Calibrate before taking data

Reflection and Transmission measurement

To avoid loss of
Diffuse scattering

For charged particles measurement

High vacuum technology is needed

For ionization radiations

Photons- Produced electrons by photoelectric
effects, Compton effect, and pair production.
High energy electrons or charged particlesaccelerated to produce more electronics.

Neutronsslow neutron, by nuclear reactions

and high energy charged particle produced.
Neutrons-fast neutron, by recoil protons.

1 Gy: 1 J /Kg of absorption

Detectors:

Dimension: zero, one, two, three dimensional

Large area detectors

Films,imaging plate, multiwire detector, CCD

detector, flat panel detectors, pixel detector

Specifications:
Spatial resolution, energy resolution, time
resolution, dynamic range of counting rate,
dynamic range of energy, dynamics of area,
sensitivity, efficiency, detector dead time,
radiation damage, cost.

12 Nuclear Radiation Measurement

12.6 Nuclear Radiation
Four Major Radiation Categories

12.6 Nuclear Radiation

-rays
3. The three major interactions are: the photo-electric effect (P.E.),
the Compton scattering (C.E.) and the pair production (P.P.).

12 Nuclear Radiation Measurement

12.8-12.9 Gas-Filler Detectors
Generation of ion pairs

e.g., a 3.5 MeV alpha particle may generate

~100,000 ion pairs in the air.

12 Nuclear Radiation Measurement

12.8-12.9 Gas-Filler Detectors
2. ionization chamber, proportional counter, and
Geiger-Mueller (G-M) counter

12 Nuclear Radiation Measurement

12.8-12.9 Gas-Filler Detectors
2. ionization chamber, proportional counter, and
Geiger-Mueller (G-M) counter Gas Multiplication

Gas proportional counter

12 Nuclear Radiation Measurement

12.10-12.11 Scintillation Detectors
2. Inorganic Scintillators e.g., NaI(Tl), CsI(Tl), LiI(Eu)

12 Nuclear Radiation Measurement

12.10-12.11 Scintillation Detectors
1. Organic Scintillators : e.g., anthrancene and stilbene
-- fluorescence and phosphorescence

12 Nuclear Radiation Measurement

12.10-12.11 Scintillation Detectors
3. Light Guides and Photo-Multiplier (P-M) Tubes

12 Nuclear Radiation Measurement

12.X Semiconductor Detectors
Junction Properties

12 Nuclear Radiation Measurement

12.X Semiconductor Detectors
High Purity Germanium (HPGe) Detectors

12.X Semiconductor Detectors

Peak-efficiency Calibration

MCA: Multichannel analyzer

The pulse height (Q/c) after ADC became an address of memory
The counts is added by one at specified address and stored back

12.X Semiconductor Detectors

HPGe Gamma-ray Spectra

12 Nuclear Radiation Measurement

Thermal Neutron Detection

Q=0.763 MeV
Q= 200 MeV for fission products

Neutron Reactions of Interests in Neutron Detection

Neutron interaction cross section

27

Fast neutron (2 MeV) from fission needs to slow down to thermal

energy (25 meV)
To gain much higher fission cross section (>100 times)

10B,

Cd very high absorption cross section for thermal neutrons

4He very low absorption cross section for gamma rays

The neutron detector at nuclear reactor:

CIC compensated ion chamber
Self power detector

Measure the neutron flux profile in the reactor

By activation analysis
Put gold wire in the reactor
197Au(n,

g)

198

Au T1/2=2.7 days, gamma ray 410 keV

Reactor Instrumentation
CIC (Compensated Ion Chamber)

31

Reactor Instrumentation

Self-Power Neutron Detector (SPND)

PWR In-core Detector

103Rh

capture neutron and beta decay

I = CsANf

32

12 Nuclear Radiation Measurement

Fast Neutron Detection:
Counting:
By proton recoil: fast proton as charged particle
By moderator: neutron slowing down, then nuclear reaction
produce charged particles
Thermal or cold Neutron energy measurement:
Time of flight
Crystal monochromator
Larmor procession

25 meV (kT at 300 K) neutron, 2200 m/s, wavelength 0.18 nm

Triple axis neutron

spectrometer
2dsinq=l
Energy resolution - meV

For measuring the

Inelastic neutron
scattering spectrum
due to vibration of
molecules or crystal lattice
vibration
Phonon dispersion

Larmor precession + Scattering

Spin-echo
spectroscopy -neV (diffusion)

dP
g ( P B)
dt

use Two identical magnets

In series.

Larmor precession

Only for polarized neutrons

Neutron Spin-echo
Spectrometer
Several neV energy resolution

Detectors:

Dimension: zero, one, two, three dimensional

Large area detectors

Films,imaging plate, multiwire detector, CCD

detector, flat panel detectors, pixel detector

Specifications:
Spatial resolution, energy resolution, time
resolution, dynamic range of counting rate,
dynamic range of energy, dynamics of area,
sensitivity, efficiency, detector ded time, radiation
damage, cost.

To measure photon energy

Using only pulse type

Multi-wire detector

Charge Coupling Device (CCD)

Imaging Plate

Flat panel X-ray detector using amorphous Se

under high voltage

S.O.Kasap , J. Mater Sci.(2000)

Textures Scintillator

Picture of bone in Hand is easiest

Good contrast
Not moving
For angioraphy:
Blood vessel and muscle
with the same density
No contrast:
Solution:
1. with dye injection
2. phase contrast

Three dimensional detector: tomography

Density contrast

Phase contrast

 x
TOMOGRAPHY
100 nm

Imaging

By X-ray, gamma ray, neutron,

good penetration

By optical light, not for metal or non-transpant one

By IR: some of them is good , Si wafer

BY 200 keV electron: only very thin sample

12 Nuclear Radiation Measurement

12.13 Statistics of Counting Example 12.5

sT=(21552)1/2/tT

sb=(1850)1/2/tb

ss=(sT2+sb2)1/2

If the Gaussian or Poisson distribution is ture.

The more counts you collected, the more precision you can obtain
Statistical error of counting N is N
N
1
100
10000

N
1
10
100

100% error
100 %
10 %
1%

If you need a precision improved by M times, you have to collect M2 of counts

However, subtract the background is needed.

12.X Semiconductor Detectors

HPGe Gamma-ray Spectra

What is the minimal detection limit?

Background

Error propagation

{Signal+background} measurement (NT) subtract background (NB)

NS=NT-NB

Assume all Gaussian errors: ss2 =st2 + sb2

NT=101 10, NB=100 10 ,

=> NS= 1 14 (1400%)

Accumulate 100 times data acquisition time:

NT=10100 100, NB10000 100 => NS = 100 140 (140%)
Acquired 10000 times
NT=1010000 1000, NB =1000000 1000 => NS =10000 1400 (14%)
We need a stronger source and low background detectors

Detector dead time (pulse counting)

n-m=nmtd

n: real incident radiation

M: the recorded radiation

59

Detector dead time loss

60

Chapter 12
Nuclear Radiation Measurement

Any questions?