SCINTILLATION DETECTOR

If a material gives off light when radiation interacts with it, it is said to scintillate. The amount
of light given off is proportional to the amount of incident radiation. This light can be measured
and the information used to calculate the amount of radiation exposure.
Different types of scintillating material are used to detect different types of radiation. For
example, a thin layer of zinc sulfide is generally used to detect alpha radiation; an anthracene
crystal is used for beta; and a sodium iodide thallium activated crystal detects gamma.
Scintillation detectors can exist in any physical state (i.e., solid, liquid, or gas), but the most
common detectors are solid crystalline materials. The basic functioning of the detector is the
same no matter what type of scintillation material is used.
Since scintillation materials have a higher density and higher effective atomic number, they
present more target atoms for interaction with ionizing radiation than gas filled detectors.
Scintillation detectors of a similar size as a gas filled detector will produce a greater number of
excited electrons making them more sensitive to lower activity levels of the radiation being
measured.
Construction:
Crystals in the detector are canned in metal, usually aluminium, except for the end, which is
attached to the photomultiplier tube. This end is enclosed by a glass or quartz window, which
is optically connected to the photomultiplier tube either through direct contact, or through the
use of a device referred to as a light pipe that helps to direct the emitted light to the
photomultiplier tube. The crystal must be canned for two reasons: External light must be
prevented from entering the crystal. Moisture must be kept out. Because the crystal is
hygroscopic, it will absorb moisture from the atmosphere that would destroy the crystal.
Moisture must be kept out. Because the crystal is hygroscopic, it will absorb moisture from the
atmosphere that would destroy the crystal.

Working: When a gamma ray interacts with the scintillation material, visible light is given off.
This visible light interacts with the photocathode, and electrons are emitted. These are the first
two steps in the scintillation detection process. In the third step, the electrons are multiplied by
106 by the dynodes in the photomultiplier tube. To illustrate the third step, let's follow one
electron from the time it is emitted by the photocathode. The electron is attracted to the first
positively charged dynode. When it strikes the dynode, more electrons (typically four) are
emitted. The first dynode is shaped so that it directs the emitted electrons to the next dynode.
The electrons are multiplied again by the second dynode and sent to the third dynode. The
electron multiplication continues throughout all the dynodes in the photomultiplier tube. The
result is a large flow of electrons striking the anode. Typically, each electron emitted from the
photocathode will end up as about a million electrons striking the anode. In the fourth step the
anode collects the electrons. A measurable electrical current is the result. The current is
measured by the measuring device.
Uses:
Scintillation detectors are extremely sensitive instruments. They are often used in plant
laboratories where precise measurements are needed. They are also mounted on process
systems in the plant to measure radiation levels in the liquids or gases flowing through the
systems. Detectors used in this way are called process monitors and will be discussed later.
Types:
There are two commonly used types of scintillators, inorganic crystals and organic scintillators. The
scintillation mechanism is different for these two types.
In a pure inorganic crystal lattice such as NaI, electrons are only allowed to occupy selected energy
bands. The forbidden band or band gap is the range of energies in which electrons can never be found
in the pure crystal. In the pure crystal, absorption of energy can elevate electrons from the valence band
to the conduction band leaving a gap in the valence band. However, the return of an electron to the
valence band with the emission of a photon is an inefficient process. Few photons are released per
decay; the energy is emitted by other mechanisms. In addition, band gap widths in pure crystals are
such that the resulting emitted photon is too high to lie within the visible range. Small amounts of
impurities are therefore added to the crystal. Tl is added to NaI in trace amounts. The impurities are
called activators, they create special sites in the lattice at which the band gap structure, the energy
structure, is modified. The energy structure of the overall crystal is not changed, just the energy structure
at the activator sites.

Alkali halide: NaI(Tl), CsI(Tl), CsI(Na), LiI(Ei)

The scintillation mechanism in organic materials is quite different from the mechanism in inorganic
crystals. In inorganic scintillators, e.g. NaI, CsI the scintillation arises because of the structure of the

crystal lattice. The fluorescence mechanism in organic materials arises from transitions in the energy
levels of a single molecule and therefore the fluorescence can be observed independently of the
physical state. For example, anthracene is observed to fluoresce as
a polycrystalline material
a vapor
part of a mixed solution Practical organic scintillators are organic molecules which have symmetry
properties associated with the electron structure.
Energy from a charged particle is absorbed and excites the electron into a variety of excited states the singlet states (spin = 0) are labeled S1, S2, S3 in Fig. 4.5. For organic scintillators the spacing
between S0 and S1 is 3 to 4 eV, the spacing between the upper states is much smaller. Each of the S
levels is subdivided into a series of levels with much finer structure (corresponding to the vibrational
states of the molecule). The typical spacing is 0.15 eV. The 2nd subscript denotes the fine structure
level. Spacing between S states is 3-4 eV, spacing in vibrational structure is 0.15 eV.

SEMI-CONDUCTOR DETECTION SYSTEMS

A semi-conductor detector crystal structure provides a greater number of atoms per unit
volume. In the crystalline structure the electrons can exist in a valence band or a conduction
band. The valence band electrons are bound to specific sites within the lattice structure. The
conduction band electrons are free to move through the crystal structure. The addition of energy
is required to move an electron from the valence band to the conduction band. In a good
conductor the energy gap between the valance band and the conduction band is very small, so
electrons can easily move through the material (i.e., pass a current). In a good insulator, there
is a large gap between the bands so that a large amount of energy is required to move an electron
into the conduction band. A semi-conductor has a smaller band gap than that of insulator so
that under certain conditions, electrons can be moved to the conduction band leaving behind a
positive hole in the crystal structure.
Working:
In order for a semi-conductor crystal to operate as a radiation detector, the crystal must be
depleted or free of excess electrical charges. This depletion region can be formed either
through the use of very high purity materials (HPGe), or by mixing or drifting a material
with an excess of positive and negative impurities (GeLi). When ionizing radiation interacts
with the crystal in the depletion region, electron energy is raised to the conduction band leaving
behind positive holes in the crystal structure. If a voltage is applied across the crystal, the
electrons will be drawn to the anode and the holes will migrate to the cathode. The combination
of electron and hole movement creates a current flow in the circuit, which results in a pulse.
The size of the pulse is directly proportional to the number of electrons collected, which is
proportional to the energy deposited in the crystal by the incident radiation. The process is
analogous to a gas filled detector in that the depletion region acts as a solid fill gas, and the
electron-hole pairs would be the equivalent of ion pairs.

Use:
Semi-conductor detectors are widely used in nuclear power stations electronic dosimeters,
portable survey instruments in gamma spectroscopy systems used for isotopic analysis.
Commonly used semi-conductor materials that measure radiation include Cadmium-Telluride,
Silicon, High Purity Germanium (HPGe) and Lithium drifted Germanium (GeLi).

Semi-conductor materials used for radiation detection require only a very small amount of
energy to produce an electron-hole pair. This creates a big advantage over other detectors in
that the pulses can provide a much better resolution of the incident gamma energy when used
with a gamma spectroscopy system. Germanium detectors used in some gamma spectroscopy
systems are operated at near liquid nitrogen temperature to prevent the creation of electronhole pairs from the thermal energy available at room temperature.
Referred Notes

GEIGER- MULLER COUNTER

A Geiger-Muller counter also called Geiger counter is a type of particle detectors that measures
ionizing radiation. It detects the emission of nuclear radiation like a-particles, b-particles of grays by the ionization produce in a low measure gas in a Geiger-Muller tube, which its name
to the instrument. The original operating principle was discovered in 1908. The subsequent
development of Geiger- Muller tube in 1928, the Geiger Muller counter has
become a popular instrument for many measurements like radiation doiesimetry, health fields
and other fields.

Construction
The G.M. tube consists of a central electrode of Tungsten wire of about 0.01cm diameter. The
outer electrode is a metal tube which can be contain inside a glass envelop acting in the dual
role of electrode and container (Fig. RC Sharma). The metal tube well insulated from the
central electrode. The tube is filled with a gas mixture of about 90% argon and 10% alcohol at
pressure of 10 cm of Hg. The applied voltage is about 1000 volts. The external circuit contains
high
leak
resistance
R.

Operation:
The G. M. counter is connected with electronic ckt.which record pulse height (Approx 0.25
Volt) proper to this region. It is seen that until the voltage reaches the starting voltage V, the
pulses are too small to be detected. As voltage increases above this limit rate the counting rate
increases until the threshold voltage VG of G.M. region is reached. Above VG the counting
rate remains almost constant. This is known as Geiger plateau. Beyond this plateau is
continuous discharge takes place and counting is not possible. In the G. M. region ionization
pulse depends on general characteristics and construction of G.M. tube.
A Geiger-Muller counter uses the same electrode geometry as a proportional counter but, by
increasing the applied voltage, the electric field near the wire becomes so high that electrons
can gain sufficient energy between collisions to excite inner so high that electrons can gain
sufficient energy between collisions to excite inner electrons of gas atoms. Ultra-violet photons
from the de-excitation of these atoms are energetic enough to ionize other atoms
throughout the volume of the chamber realizing electrons. These electrons trigger further
avalanches and the whole process grows until a discharge extends along the whole length of
the central wire. Electrons are collected quickly, leaving positive ions behind and the discharge
stops when the buildup of positive charge near the wire reduces the electric field below the
level for Geiger action. The resulting voltage pulse is large. It can easily be counted without
further amplifications, but it contains no information about the amount of initial ionization.