Radon emanation measurements using silicon photodiode detectors.
Driven by the global concern about radon hazards, a wide variety of methods to measure radon and its decay products have been developed. Pin silicon photodiodes are increasingly applied in this field, their main advantages being high detection efficiency for alpha particles and low cost. In this paper, we present a system to determine the emanation factor for 222Rn from porous material based on a pin photodiode. This equipment is valid both for field and laboratory measurements, allowing to monitor the external emanation conditions by means of temperature, humidity and pressure sensors. To illustrate the capabilities of the system, we present two case studies of samples with high and low 226Ra content. The activity of this radionuclide in the samples had been previously determined by gamma-ray spectrometry.
Laboratorio LIBRA, Edificio I+D, Campus Miguel Delibes, Universidad de Valladolid, Valladolid 47011, Spain. joselg@libra.uva.es
J L
JL
Gutiérrez
M
M
García-Talavera
V
V
Peña
J C
JC
Nalda
M
M
Voytchev
R
R
López
D004563:Electrochemistry / Q000295:instrumentation; D004581:Electronics; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011874:Radiometry / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D011886:Radon / Q000032:analysis*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012666:Semiconductors; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012825:Silicon / Q000528:radiation effects*; D012990:Soil Pollutants, Radioactive / Q000032:analysis; D014159:Transducers; D018707:Volcanic Eruptions / Q000032:analysis
D012990:Soil Pollutants, Radioactive; D011886:Radon; D012825:Silicon