1

“Detectors in Nuclear Medicine & Counting and Measuring System”

and
“In vitro Techniques”
 Gas-filled detectors
2  Gas-filled detector are radiation detection instruments used in particle physics to
detect the presence of ionizing particles, and in radiation protection applications to
measure ionizing radiation.
 A gas-filled detector consists of a volume of gas between two electrodes, with an
electrical potential difference (voltage) applied between the electrodes
 Positive ions (cations) attracted to negative electrode (cathode); electrons or anions
attracted to positive electrode (anode)

Fig: A schematic diagram of a gas-filled detector illustrating the

principle of operation of gaseous ionization detectors.
3 Types of Gas-filled detector:
Three types of gas-filled detectors in common use:
(1) Ionization chambers (continuous current output)
(2) Proportional counters (pulse current output)
(3) Geiger Muller counters (pulse current output)

(1) Ionization chambers (Continuous Current Output)

 Ionization chamber measures the charge from the number of ion
pairs created within a gas caused by incident radiation.
 Ion-pairs move towards opposite polarity electrodes, generating an
ionization current which is measured by an electrometer circuit.
 The chamber cannot discriminate between radiation types (beta or
gamma) and cannot produce an energy spectrum of radiation.
 Straight plateau as there is no “multiplication” and also no
“recombination”.
4 (2) Proportional Counter (pulse current output)

The gaseous proportional counter is a device that can be used to detect ionizing
radiation. Proportional counters operate at a slightly higher voltage, selected such that discrete
avalanches are generated. Each ion pair produces a single avalanche so that an output current
pulse is generated which is proportional to the energy deposited by the radiation. This is in the
"proportional counting" region.

Fig: Schematic drawing of a proportional counter.

5 (3) Geiger Muller counters (pulse current output)

A Geiger–Muller counters an electronic instrument used for detecting and measuring

ionizing radiation.
Geiger counter is a device which is used to detect and measure particles in ionized gases. It
is widely used in applications like radiological protection, radiation dosimetry, and
experimental physics. Normally used when alpha or beta particles are being detected GM
counters consists of a GM tube, the sensing, element, and processing electronics. It is filled
with an inert gas at Low pressure, and high voltage.
6 Operation Regions of Gas-Filled Detectors.

Fig: Operation regions of gas-filled detectors.

Detectors
Scintillation Detector
A scintillation detector is one of several possible methods for detecting ionizing radiation.
Scintillation is the process by which some material, be it a solid, liquid, or gas, emits light in
response to incident ionizing radiation. In practice, this is used in the form of a single crystal of
sodium iodide that is doped with a small amount of thallium, referred to as NaI(Tl). This crystal
is coupled to a photomultiplier tube which converts the small flash of light into an electrical signal
through the photoelectric effect. This electrical signal can then be detected by a computer.

Semiconductor Detector
A semiconductor accomplishes the same effect as a scintillation detector, conversion of gamma
radiation into electrical pulses, except through a different route. In a semiconductor, there is a small
energy gap between the valence band of electrons and the conduction band. When a semiconductor is
hit with gamma-rays, the energy imparted by the gamma-ray is enough to promote electrons to the
conduction band. This change in conductivity can be detected and a signal can be generated
correspondingly. Germanium crystals doped with lithium, Ge(Li), and high-purity germanium (HPGe)
detectors are among the most common types.
8 Scintillation detectors
Scintillations are minute flashes of light which are produced by certain materials
when they absorbed radiation. These materials are called fluorescent, Scintillators and
phosphors.
Scintillation detectors are used for the determination of the high-energy part of the X-
ray spectrum. In scintillation detectors the material of the detector is excited
to luminescence(emission of visible or near-visible light photons) by the absorbed
photons or particles.
9 Basic principle of the scintillator
Scintillates are one of the oldest types of radiation detector because measurements could
be made with photographic film. Images could be collected or intensity measurements
could be made. Measurements were also made with the human eye observing the
brightness of frequency of flashes in the scintillator. Nowadays the light output is
converted into voltage pulses that are processed in the same way as pulses from
proportional counters, semiconductor detectors etc. The whole point of scintillation
detectors is that we want to produce a large light output in the visible range.

Fig. Principle of the scintillation detectors.

Scintillations Detectors
Scintillators materials produce spark or
scintillation of light when ionizing radiation
passes through them. The operation is in 2
steps:
1) Absorption of the incident radiation
energy and production of the photons.
2) Amplification of the light by a PMT or an
APD
They can be divided in 3 groups:
 inorganic Scintillators,
 organic Scintillators and
 gaseous Scintillators.
Inorganic Scintillators
Properties of some inorganic
scintillators
Applications

 NaI(Tl), CsI are the most commonly used for

ϫ-rays. (sizes up to 0.75m Dia, 0.25m thick).
Used for all nuclide identification applications
 CaF2 (Eu) efficient for β particles and X-rays
with low ϫ sensitivity.
 LiF/ZnS for neutron imaging with wavelength
shifting-fiber detector
Organic and gaseous scintillators
Applications for crystal, liquid, plastic and Properties of some organic
gaseous scintillators scintillators
 Crystal have faster response time compared to
inorganic faster timing resolution.
 Liquid scintillators are used in large volume to
increase the efficiency and reduce ϫ/n ratio.
 Mixture of noble gases: lowϫ, short decay,
Light output per MeV doesn’t depend on the
charge or the mass of the particle. Suitable for
heavy charged particles (α, fission fragments,

Plastic scintillators
 Plastic scintillators have similar properties to those of liquid scintillators.
 They don’t need a container and can be machined in any size or shape and inert to
water, air and many chemical.
 Applications include large area detector array for neutron measurements and ϫ-ray
large area space telescope
Solid State Detector
Solid state detector, is also known as Semiconductor Radiation Detector. The discovery of
semiconductors and the invention of the transistor in 1947 has an impact on Electronics, Computer
Technology, telecommunications, and Instrumentation. The materials can be classified as conductors,
semiconductors, and insulators on the basis of their conductivity. Semiconductors include the
materials having conductivity lying between the conductivity of conductors and that of insulators.

A radiation detector in which the detecting medium is a solid state detector (semiconductor) material
such as a silicon or germanium crystal. The solid state detector has conductivity in the range 104 to
10-6 Sm-1. As a beam of ionizing radiation passes through the device, it creates a p-n junction, which
generates a current pulse. In a different device, the absorption of ionizing radiation generates pairs of
charge carriers (current carries or electrons called holes) in a block of semiconducting material

Types of Solid State Detectors

 The Intrinsic Solid State Detector

 Extrinsic Solid State Detector
(1) Intrinsic Solid State Detector (semiconductor)

An extremely pure solid state detector is called an intrinsic semiconductor. An example of intrinsic
semiconductors is silicon, germanium. Si (silicon) atom has 4 valence electrons. Silicon atoms share
their four valence electrons with their four neighbour atoms and also take a share of 1 electron from
each neighbour. At absolute zero temperature, the valence electron band is filled and the conduction
band is empty.
The departure of an electron from a valence bond creates a vacancy in the bond that is called a hole.
That is, every thermally separated bond creates electron-hole pair. In intrinsic semiconductor total
current is the sum of electronic current 𝐼𝑒 and the hole current is 𝐼ℎ .
Here the formula is, I = 𝐼𝑒 + 𝐼ℎ .

(2) Extrinsic Solid State Detector (semiconductor)

The conductivity of an intrinsic semiconductor can permanently be increased, by adding suitable

impurities. Hence the process of adding impurity to pure semiconductors called doping and the
impurity atoms are called dopants. A doped solid state detector is called an extrinsic semiconductor.
The Dopant atom should not distort the original semiconductor crystal structure.
Properties of Solid State Detector

 The solid detector is very small in size and light in weight.

 They do not have a heating element and hence low power consumption.
 Detectors do not have warm up time.
 They can operate on low voltage.
 The solid detector is used in the medical field also as a solid state x-ray detector.
 They have a high speed of operations.
 A complementary device is possible such as n-p-n and p-n-p transistors.
Scintillation Counting System
Scintillation Counting System Cont…
Scintillation Counting System Cont…
Scintillation Counting System Cont…
20 Gamma Spectroscopy
 The size of the signals generated from scintillators and solid state detectors are proportional to
the energy deposited in the crystal.
 Signals can be organized with respect to energy
 Each time a signal of a certain magnitude is counted it is added to that energy category
 So more of the same size signals that get produced from the detector will result in a larger peak
at that corresponding energy
 Result will be a chart (spectrum) of the energies of the gamma rays and their intensities
 Can be used to identify unknown radionuclides
 Can be used determine quantity of material present when calibrated • Can be quite complicated
if have many radionuclides present
21 COMPONENTS

• The equipment used in gamma spectroscopy includes an energy-sensitive radiation

detector, electronics to process detector signals produced by the detector, such as a
pulse sorter (i. e. , multichannel analyzer), and associated amplifiers and data readout
devices to generate, display, and store the spectrum.
• The most common detectors include sodium iodide (Na. I) scintillation counters and
highpurity germanium (HPGe) detectors.
22 Block Diagram of Gamma Ray Spectrometry

Fig: Block Diagram of Gamma Ray Spectrometry

Calibrator
A calibrator is an instrument or solution
of a known measure or quantity that is
used to standardize instruments or
procedures in the laboratory setting.

Dose Calibrator
Device which quantifies an amount of
radioactive substance. It would give the
number of Becquerels or Curies present at
a particular noted time.
24 Dose calibrator block scheme

Fig: Dose calibrator block scheme

How it works
Does Calibrator work three direct ways:
i. Photoelectric effect.
ii. Compton scattering
iii. Pair production

 In all these interactions betowen photons and mattera(argon gas) energy is transferred,
leaving ion pairs behind.
 To collect the ion pairs created from these interactions, the detector has an applied voltage
with the negative cathode as the chamber wall and a positive anode within the
ionization chamber.
 After ionization ,positive charged ions srift towaed the cathoder and the negative charged ions
drift toward the anode .
 The positive and negative charge is supplied by a high-voltage supply or a battery acting as
a capacitor within a dose calibrator .
 The battery keeps the voltage on the cathode and anode constant and functions as a backup if
there is ever a power iutage to keep the calibration factors stored in memory
Uncertainty of activity measurements

I. Calibration factor
II. Electronics
III. Statistical considerations
IV. Ion recombination
V. Background radiation
VI. Source container and volume effects
VII. Source container and volume effects
VIII.Source adsorption
Dose Calibrator Acceptance Testing And Quality Control
1. Acceptance tests:
Acceptance tests for dose calibrators should include measurements of the accuracy, reproducibility,
linearity and geometry response.
2. Accuracy and reproducibility
The accuracy is determined by comparing activity measurements using a traceable calibrated standard
with the supplier’s stated activity, corrected for radioactive decay.
3. Linearity
There are several approaches to the measurement of the linearity response of a dose calibrator.
Typically, a vial containing a high activity of 99mTc is measured repeatedly over a period of at least
5d. During this time, a 100 GBq source will decay to 0.1 MBq.
4. Geometry
The measured activity may vary with the position of the source within the ionization chamber, with
the composition of the vial or syringe, or with the volume of liquid within the vial or syring
5. Check source reproducibility
A long lived check source should be used on a daily basis to confirm the constancy of the response of
the dose calibrator. Sealed radioactive sources of 57Co and 137Cs, shaped to mimic a vial, are
available commercially for this purpose.
28 Fundamental Properties of Detectors
(1) Spectral Response and Linearity
The ideal detector would be able to convert incident photons of any energy into an electrical signal,
and would have a perfectly linear response, such that the magnitude of the current produced is directly
proportional to the number of photons striking the detector.
(2) Quantum Efficiency
Quantum efficiency is a measure of how well a detector can convert photons into an electrical signal.
It is often reported as the ratio, η , of the number of electrons generated by the detector divided by the
number of incident photons, but can also be reported as the percent of incident photons that will be
translated into a measurable signal
(3) High sensitivity
Large linearity of response. Least peak broadening and resultant loss of resolution. Preferably non-
destructive
(4) Dynamic Range
The dynamic range of a detector is a measure of its ability to generate a reliable signal relative to the
intensity of incident radiation. A detector with a very high dynamic range will be able to measure both
extremely weak and extremely strong photon sources
29 (5) Response Time
The generation of an electrical signal from an incident photon occurs on a very fast, but
measurable timescale, which varies by detector type. The response time is the amount of time
necessary before a detector is able to generate another signal; the faster the response time, the
more quickly variations in incident radiation can be resolved. An ideal detector would have zero
response time, though this is an impossibility in real detectors.
(6) Noise
All detectors generate small signals that do not correspond to absorption of a photon, and these
signals are collectively termed noise. Noise does not contain any useful information, and therefore
it is important to minimize signals due to noise relative to the overall signal; the higher the signal-
to-noise ratio, the more sensitive the detector.
(7) Read-Out Noise
Read-out noise is only a factor in detectors that integrate signals, such as charge coupled devices
(CCDs) and complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) sensors. These detectors collect
and store charge over an extended period of time, and when the charge collection is complete, the
accumulated charge is "read off" the collection grid, a process which involves moving packets of
charge between multiple electrodes for measurement, or converting charge signals into voltages
using operational amplifiers.