DEVELOPMENT OF SILICON DETECTORS AND ELECTRONIC UNITS FOR RADIOMETER ALPHA-, BETAAND GAMMA-RADIATION

Abstract

Spectrometry of nuclear radiation using semiconductor detectors (SPDs) originated in the early 1960s. Of all the tasks of nuclear radiation spectrometry, the most urgent is the creation of specialized instruments for scientific research and experiments. With the improvement of PPD manufacturing technology, new opportunities for improving the operational parameters of PPDs appear, and the range of tasks solved with their help is expanding. The article describes a special manufacturing technology for a silicon detector with a large sensitive area and working volume, as well as radiometers based on them. The developed technology for the manufacture of detectors ensures the minimum thickness of the “input” and “output” windows, which is important for measuring low-energy particles and allows measurements in 2π-geometry. In world practice, such detectors are rarely used. The paper presents the structure and block diagram of the developed radiometric device based on large detectors for rapid measurement of low-intensity radiation of radioactive elements. Detectors are developed taking into account the planned physical experiments and are manufactured for certain types of radiometers to perform a specific task. The developed device is designed to measure the volumetric activity of radon alpha radiation and the activity of beta and gamma radiation of natural isotopes (238U, 234U, 232Th, 226Ra, 222Rn, 218Po, 214Bi, etc.) in various media. The device is mobile, compact and safe, and can be used both in the field and stationary. The article presents the results of a study of the activities of alpha, beta and gamma radiation of soil air from a well 1.5 m deep. on the territory of one of the foothill regions of the republic. Measurements are taken in real time, online and the data is displayed on a computer monitor.