- Wed Apr 11, 2007 5:15 pm
#28469
Hi there,
I'm looking for a small solid-state radiation sensor. From what I understand, radiation detectors used to use Gieger tubes, but now a good number of solid-state alternatives exist. These newer detectors typically use some kind of scintillation material where the material emits light when some kind of ionization event occurs in the material (such as being hit by a gamma ray, beta radiation, or some other types depending on the material) ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scintillat ... physics%29 ). I think that typically the kinds of scintillation materials they use include ZnS, something called Nal(TI), and I've even been able to find some BaF2 crystals that have beautiful responses to a variety of particles (including high energy neutrons!) on eBay.
The issue is, I haven't really been able to find any end-product detector (I tend to imagine something that looks like a thermopile when I envision what I'm looking for) that I could purchase. There are a number of robotics and hobby-electronics websites that sell gieger kits, but these typically use gieger tubes which require high voltage sources. A solid state device, from the little I know about them, seems to just be a scintillator infront of a photodetector/photomultiplier. And I've been able to find products that use the devices -- 'radiation detectors' in keychains or watches -- but not the actual sensor.
Any thoughts?
thanks,
silic0re
I'm looking for a small solid-state radiation sensor. From what I understand, radiation detectors used to use Gieger tubes, but now a good number of solid-state alternatives exist. These newer detectors typically use some kind of scintillation material where the material emits light when some kind of ionization event occurs in the material (such as being hit by a gamma ray, beta radiation, or some other types depending on the material) ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scintillat ... physics%29 ). I think that typically the kinds of scintillation materials they use include ZnS, something called Nal(TI), and I've even been able to find some BaF2 crystals that have beautiful responses to a variety of particles (including high energy neutrons!) on eBay.
The issue is, I haven't really been able to find any end-product detector (I tend to imagine something that looks like a thermopile when I envision what I'm looking for) that I could purchase. There are a number of robotics and hobby-electronics websites that sell gieger kits, but these typically use gieger tubes which require high voltage sources. A solid state device, from the little I know about them, seems to just be a scintillator infront of a photodetector/photomultiplier. And I've been able to find products that use the devices -- 'radiation detectors' in keychains or watches -- but not the actual sensor.
Any thoughts?
thanks,
silic0re