Degradation prediction of a γ-ray radiation dosimeter using InGaP solar cells in a primary containment vessel of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station

Abstract

ABSTRACTIndium gallium phosphide (InGaP) solar cell with a superior high-radiation resistance is expected to be a powerful candidate for a dosimeter under a high-radiation dose rate environment. In this study, in order to predict the lifetime as the dosimeter using the InGaP solar cell, we clarify the effect of minority-carrier diffusion length (L) on a radiation-induced current as a dose signal in the InGaP solar cell by irradiation tests and empirical calculations. In the irradiation tests, the short-circuit current density (Jsc) as a function of the γ-ray dose rate is measured to estimate the L for the InGaP solar cell by irradiation tests. The operational lifetime as a detector using the InGaP solar cell under various dose rates is estimated by using the empirical calculations based on the relation between the L and absorbed dose. The results suggest that the dosimeter using InGaP solar cell is able to be used during more than 10 h in the primary containment vessel of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant and it has a high potential of being a radiation-resistant dosimeter that would contribute to the decommissioning.