If you are someone who works around radiation, one of the biggest considerations to be aware of is how much radiation you’re around, or the levels of radiation you’re around. To accomplish this, you’ll primarily use various types of radiation detectors. By having a basic understanding of the different types of radiation detectors, you’ll be able to determine which detectors are best for the job or task you need to accomplish and you’ll also be able to get the most out of effectively using them as well.

Determining Where and When You’ll Need Radiation Detectors

One of the biggest parts of understanding which type of detector you need is to know exactly how and where you’re going to be using it. As you can imagine, different settings, jobs, and applications require the use of specific types of detectors, and each type is designed specifically for a certain role. Regardless of the type of radiation detector you use, they can be categorized into multiple different core tasks, namely measurement, protection, and search.

Radiation Measurement

Radiation takes place when there is a presence of radioactive materials that need to be monitored. As mentioned earlier, awareness is what you’re being mindful of, especially when you work in an environment where radiation is constantly present. You want to be aware of the radioactive area in and of itself, the boundaries of the radioactive area as well as the spread of its contamination, and the overall strength of the radioactive field. In these particular areas, it’s likely guaranteed to expect the presence of radiation. Because of this likely guarantee, the settings for these detectors are usually of a much higher measurement range or have unique modifications specifically designed to detect a specific type of radiation.

Radiation Protection

Radiation protection is very similar to radiation measurement applications in regards to the aspect of there being a highly likely chance of radiation being detected. However, despite the similarity in applications, there is quite a difference between the two, mainly in the goals. With radiation protection, the goal is to monitor people; mainly people who work in fields where they’re exposed to radiation daily. These fields include the following:

Radiation dosimetry is a great example of why radiation protection is needed for these workers, as they are occupationally exposed regularly. Radiation protection shields these workers from the most harmful effects of radiation and stays regularly informed of how much radiation they’ve been exposed to.

Radiation Search

With the previous two categories of radiation, radiation is expected in their applications; With radiation search, radiation is not expected in the area and the goal is to keep radiation from being detected in that area. Within this particular category are first responders and customs and borders inspectors, to name a few. For these types of workers, they need detectors that are highly sensitive to detect even the slightest hint of radioactive sources; even if they’re concealed.

By having a basic understanding of these three categories, you’ll be able to determine the best protector you need to complete the varying tasks you may have.

The Different Radiation Detectors

Scintillation Detectors

Scintillation detectors are used when the interest at hand is the quantification of ionizing energy. These detectors take the interaction of ionizing energy to produce UV or visible light. A calibration transfer is what allows the intensity of the light captured to be converted to the energy of the incident radiation. This conversion that happens in scintillation materials happens due to fluorescence. It’s fluorescence that creates faster detector response times.

Solid-State Detectors

Solid-state detectors are used when improved energy resolution and radionuclide identification capabilities are required. To use these detectors, the production of electron-hole pairs within a diode depletion region as a result of incident ionizing radiation. These detectors offer a far better energy resolution than scintillation detectors.

Geiger-Muller (GM) Detectors

A GM detector’s design heavily impacts its sensitivity to radiation sources (alpha, beta, and gamma). These detectors are rugged tubes that use tube geometries for alpha and beta radiation, typically within a very thin window to increase the chances of radiation inside the detector. For gamma radiation, the results are more so from the interaction of gamma rays and the sidewall of the detector.

There are many reasons why you might need radiation. At S.E. International, we are your top provider of radiation alert products since 1979. From area monitors and detectors to multichannel analyzers and a portable laboratory, whatever your radiation detection needs are, we can meet them. Contact one of our technicians today to learn more.