Mandatory Topic 3 (for MSc degree)

Detection and measurement of radiation

Aims

To teach the students basic knowledge on interaction processes of radiation with matter as a basis for radiation detection, basic instrumentation in radiation detection, detector types and formation of electric pulses in them, interpretation of various spectra, energy resolution, energy and efficiency calibrations. Since ICP-MS is becoming a standard method for the measurement of many radionuclides basics on mass spectrometric measurement of radionuclides should also be at least shortly covered.

Subtopics

• interaction processes of radiation with matter (ionization, scattering, excitation, formation of electromagnetic radiation, nuclear reaction)
  o alpha
  • beta
    o gamma
  • neutrons
• basic instrumentation in radiation measurements (detector, preamplifier, amplifier, ADC,
  MCA)
  - pulse counting vs. spectrometry
  - pulse rate 􀃆 counting efficiency 􀃆 activity
  - factors affecting counting efficiency (detector efficiency, absorption, geometry, selfabsorption,
  backscattering, dead-time)
  - energy resolution
  - detectors for radiation measurement:
  o gas ionization detectors
  o solid and liquid scintillators
  o semiconductor detectors
  - statistics and error calculations in radiometric measurements
  - interpretation of gamma, alpha, beta and X-ray spectra
  - energy and efficiency calibrations
  - liquid scintillation counting
  - radiation imaging (autoradiography, fission and alpha track counting etc)
  - background formation and subtraction
  - quality control in radiation measurements
  - mass spectrometric measurement of radionuclides
  

Teaching Material from NukWik

• Movie which compares absorption of betas and gammas