SILICON DIODE AS AN ALPHA PARTICLE DETECTOR AND SPECTROMETER FOR DIRECT FIELD MEASUREMENTS.
A windowless silicon (Si) diode (4 mm(2)) was evaluated as alpha particle detector and spectrometer for field measurements. It was irradiated with alpha particles from a (241)Am (2.3 kBq) and a (210)Po (9 kBq) source at source-detector distances (SDD) of 0.5, 1.0 and 1.8 cm. The energy resolution in terms of full width at half maximum was 281, 148 and 113 keV for SDD of 0.5, 1.0 and 1.8 cm, respectively. The minimum detectable activity increased from 0.08 to 0.83 Bq when the SDD increased from 0.5 to 1.8 cm. The detector has the potential for several alpha spectrometric applications, such as monitoring for wound, skin and surface contamination at nuclear fuel facilities, nuclear power plants and facilities handling radioactive waste. Other areas are environmental surveys following releases of actinides at accidents in nuclear power plants and in connection with other radiological or nuclear scenarios.
Medical Radiation Physics, Department of Translational Medicine, Lund University, Skåne University Hospital Malmö, SE-205 02 Malmö, Sweden Unal.oren@med.lu.se.
Ünal
Ü
Ören
Medical Radiation Physics, Department of Translational Medicine, Lund University, Skåne University Hospital Malmö, SE-205 02 Malmö, Sweden.
Jonas
J
Nilsson
Medical Radiation Physics, Department of Translational Medicine, Lund University, Skåne University Hospital Malmö, SE-205 02 Malmö, Sweden.
Lars
L
Herrnsdorf
Medical Radiation Physics, Department of Translational Medicine, Lund University, Skåne University Hospital Malmö, SE-205 02 Malmö, Sweden.
Christopher L
CL
Rääf
Medical Radiation Physics, Department of Translational Medicine, Lund University, Skåne University Hospital Malmö, SE-205 02 Malmö, Sweden.
Sören
S
Mattsson
D008671:Actinoid Series Elements / Q000737:chemistry*; D000512:Alpha Particles; D000576:Americium / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D055848:Nuclear Power Plants; D011059:Polonium / Q000032:analysis; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011832:Radiation Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011834:Radiation Monitoring / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D018788:Radioactive Hazard Release; D011850:Radioactive Waste; D012037:Refuse Disposal; D012825:Silicon / Q000737:chemistry*; D012867:Skin / Q000528:radiation effects*
D008671:Actinoid Series Elements; D011850:Radioactive Waste; D011059:Polonium; D000576:Americium; D012825:Silicon