Flexible silicon-based alpha-particle detector

TY - JOUR

T1 - Flexible silicon-based alpha-particle detector

AU - Schuster, C. S.

AU - Smith, B. R.

AU - Sanderson, B. J.

AU - Mullins, J. T.

AU - Atkins, J.

AU - Joshi, P.

AU - McNamara, Louise

AU - Krauss, T. F.

AU - Jenkins, D. G.

N1 - This is an author-produced version of the published paper. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher’s self-archiving policy. Further copying may not be permitted; contact the publisher for details

PY - 2017/8/16

Y1 - 2017/8/16

N2 - The detection of alpha particles in the field can be challenging due to their short range in air of often only a few centimeters or less. This short range is a particular issue for measuring radiation inside contaminated pipework in the nuclear industry, for which there is currently no simple method available without cutting the pipes open. Here, we propose an approach for low cost, rapid, and safe identification of internally contaminated pipework based on a flexible 30 × 10 mm2 sheet of 50 μm thin crystalline silicon. Following established fabrication steps of pn-junction diodes, we have constructed a device with a signal-to-noise ratio of >20 in response to 5.5 MeV alpha-particles using a bespoke amplifier circuit. As flexible detectors may readily conform to a curved surface and are able to adapt to the curvature of a given pipeline, our prototype device stands out as a viable solution for nuclear decommissioning and related applications.

AB - The detection of alpha particles in the field can be challenging due to their short range in air of often only a few centimeters or less. This short range is a particular issue for measuring radiation inside contaminated pipework in the nuclear industry, for which there is currently no simple method available without cutting the pipes open. Here, we propose an approach for low cost, rapid, and safe identification of internally contaminated pipework based on a flexible 30 × 10 mm2 sheet of 50 μm thin crystalline silicon. Following established fabrication steps of pn-junction diodes, we have constructed a device with a signal-to-noise ratio of >20 in response to 5.5 MeV alpha-particles using a bespoke amplifier circuit. As flexible detectors may readily conform to a curved surface and are able to adapt to the curvature of a given pipeline, our prototype device stands out as a viable solution for nuclear decommissioning and related applications.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85027456560&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1063/1.4999322

DO - 10.1063/1.4999322

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85027456560

SN - 0003-6951

VL - 111

JO - Applied Physics Letters

JF - Applied Physics Letters

IS - 7

M1 - 073505

ER -