32.2: Instrumentation

Alpha particles, beta particles, gamma rays, and X-rays are measured by using the particle’s energy to produce an amplified pulse of electrical current in a detector. These pulses are counted to give the rate of disintegration. There are three common types of detectors: gas-filled detectors, scintillation counters, and semiconductor detectors. A gas-filled detector consists of a tube that contains an inert gas, such as Ar. When a radioactive particle enters the tube it ionizes the inert gas, producing an Ar⁺/e^– ion-pair. Movement of the electron toward the anode and of the Ar⁺ toward the cathode generates a measurable electrical current. A Geiger counter is one example of a gas-filled detector. A scintillation counter uses a fluorescent material to convert radioactive particles into easy to measure photons. For example, one solid-state scintillation counter consists of a NaI crystal that contains 0.2% TlI, which produces several thousand photons for each radioactive particle. Finally, in a semiconductor detector, adsorption of a single radioactive particle promotes thousands of electrons to the semiconductor’s conduction band, increasing conductivity.