Calibration and background measurements with a tissue equivalent proportional counter

A tissue-equivalent-proportional counter (TEPC) instrument has been used as the reference instrument for cosmic radiation measurement at flight altitudes by several institutes. For purposes of characterisation the response of the instrument has been investigated under different standard radiation conditions, in terms of radiation particle, energy and angle of incidence. Photon sources and photon beams of energies up to 6.6 MeV and neutron beams up to 200 MeV were used. To have a better understanding of the shielding influence of the instrument assembly, the angle dependence of response was analysed for several radiation conditions. Specific measurement conditions were simulated with the Monte Carlo transport code, FLUKA. The measured instrument response was compared with simulation results. It was demonstrated, that simulations were very helpful to understand the instrument's response. The TEPC instrument used by the Austrian Research Centre Seibersdorf (ARCS) research simulates the energy deposition in a unit density tissue volume of 2 mum diameter, of similar size to a cell nucleus. Pure propane at low pressure is used as measurement gas. To characterise the instrument at low dose rates background measurements were done 800 m below ground and at the ultra low level laboratory in Gran Sasso, 1380 m below ground. These results were compared with measurements on the Earth's surface at different altitudes on mountains up to 3480 m above sea level. The significant increase of the expected dose rate is well reproduced by the experiments at mountain altitudes. As a result of this study a full characterisation and a thorough understanding of the performance and reliability of the detector was achieved.     

Anthocyanin-sensitized solar cells using carbon nanotube films as counter electrodes

Carbon nanotube (CNT) films have been used as counter electrodes in natural dye-sensitized (anthocyanin-sensitized) solar cells to improve the cell performance. Compared with conventional cells using natural dye electrolytes and platinum as the counter electrodes, cells with a single-walled nanotube (SWNT) film counter electrode show comparable conversion efficiency, which is attributed to the increase in short circuit current density due to the high conductivity of the SWNT film.     

Report on the development of a low background proportional counter for monitoring plutonium in the lung

Techniques developed for use in X-ray astronomy detectors to reduce the internal background in proportional counters for the energy range 1–20 keV have been applied in the construction of a prototype low background proportional counter for monitoring plutonium in the lung. The most commonly used device at present is the phoswich which is mainly limited in its precision by the background count rate induced by the normal radioactivity of the subject being measured. A properly constructed proportional counter using the latest background rejection techniques should offer better rejection of these background events and improve the precision of the measurement. The design of such a counter is described together with preliminary results from the evaluation of a prototype. The limiting performance is shown to be due to radioactive contamination (tritium) of the counter and reduction of this to a low level gives a background lower than that of the phoswich, though not under operational conditions. Future improvements are described.     

Industrial tomography using a position sensitive carbon fibre anode proportional counter

Industrial tomography with radioisotope photon sources can have unacceptably long measurement times unless high photon utilisation is achieved. To this end, in transmission tomography, fan beam geometry with a multiple beam detection system is generally employed. For low energy photons (up to 60 keV) we are evaluating a xenon-filled proportional counter fitted with an 8 μm diameter carbon fibre anode for this purpose. Position sensing is by charge sharing between the two ends of the resistive anode. The beryllium window detector is 2.5 cm in diameter by 20 cm long and is filled with up to 10 atm of xenon. At 60 keV a spatial resolution of 2.3 mm (fwhm) has been achieved, and a gain uniformity of 2.8% (fwhm). Such a performance is adequate to yield 20 detector equivalents which gives a useful reduction in tomographic imaging time.     

Shielding experiment of heavy-ion produced neutrons using a tissue-equivalent proportional counter

A shielding experiment was performed at the HIMAC (Heavy Ion Medical Accelerator in Chiba), of National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS), to measure neutron dose using a spherical TEPC (tissue-equivalent proportional counter) of 12.55 cm inner diameter. Neutrons are produced from a 5 cm thick stopping length Cu target bombarded by 400 MeV/nucleon C6+ ions and penetrate concrete or iron shields of various thicknesses at 0 degree to the beam direction. From this shielding experiment. y-distribution, mean lineal energy, absorbed dose, dose equivalent and mean-quality factor were obtained behind the shield as a function of shield thickness. The neutron dose attenuation lengths were also obtained as 126 g cm(-2) for concrete and 211 g cm(-2) for iron. The measured results were compared with the calculated results using the MARS Monte Carlo code.     

不同炭材料对电极对染料敏化太阳能电池性能的影响

分别以石墨/活性炭/炭黑/碳纳米管为原料,采用丝网印刷技术制备染料敏化太阳能电池(DSSC)的对电极。分析比较了各原料的孔结构、比表面积及各原料制膜的方块电阻对组装电池性能的影响。结果表明,对于制备DSSC对电极的原料而言,孔尺寸要有一定的分布范围,孔形状要求口径大于或至少等于体径;比表面积并非越大越好,还应考虑其内部孔结构;制膜的方块电阻并非是影响电池性能的决定性因素。另外,原料的颗粒形状及排布方式也影响电池的性能。笔者以比表面积31.163 m.2g-1、方块电阻12.5Ω/□的碳纳米管所制碳膜组装的电池性能最佳,光电转化效率达5.87%。     

A practical design of a cylindrical tissue-equivalent proportional counter for microdosimetry

A 12 mm tissue-equivalent proportional counter (TEPC) was designed, constructed and successfully tested. This detector achieves features common to others TEPCs, but it does not use field shaping electrodes and it is able to work at higher bias voltages which makes it capable of measuring the whole range of energy deposition events for gamma rays. The following approach was used to design the detector: first of all the use of a cylindrical shape detector featured as simple as possible but keeping its performance as well, the next point is to avoid the use of field shaping tubes and the last one is to make the preamplifier small and as close as possible to the detector. Its construction is based on a cylindrical proportional counter with A-150 tissue-equivalent material as cathode, TE-methane gas as a proportional gas and a 20 microns diameter wire as anode.     

A method for using a time interval counter to measure frequency stability

An interval timer is used in a single-mixer frequency-stability measurement system in place of an event timer. The dead-time problem is avoided with the aid of a reference pulse train and an algorithm for ambiguity resolution. The noise floor test and the unfolding algorithm are described. Advantages of the technique are high precision, convenient interfacing, and low cost. A disadvantage is the vulnerability of the technique to missing data.     

Performance of a cylindrical tissue-equivalent proportional counter for use in neutron monitoring

Tissue-equivalent proportional counters (TEPC) allow the measurements of the absorbed dose and the ambient dose equivalent for neutron fields. A device based on this approach, called NAUSICAA((1,2)), has already been developed by IRSN to be used in high energy neutron fields for space applications. The response of this detector underestimates significantly the dose equivalent at low energies (several hundred keV) which represent the major component of neutron fields at workplaces in the nuclear industry. A counter with a similar geometry (cylindrical detector) and a lower gas pressure was studied in order to simulate a 1 microm biological site. In 2003, the performance of the device was further improved by adding a small amount of 3He to the tissue-equivalent gas (propane based) in order to increase the response for the lower energies of neutrons. Three amplification circuits were used to cover lineal energy range from 10(-1) to 10(4) keV microm(-1). Tests were performed in monoenergetic neutron and source fields. This paper presents the experimental results obtained with this change.     

Carbon nanotube/graphene nanocomposite as efficient counter electrodes in dye-sensitized solar cells

We demonstrated the replacement of the Pt catalyst normally used in the counter electrode of a dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) by a nanocomposite of dry spun carbon multi-walled nanotube (MWNT) sheets with graphene flakes (Gr-F). The effectiveness of this counter electrode on the reduction of the triiodide in the iodide/triiodide redox (I(-)/I(3)(-)) redox reaction was studied in parallel with the use of the dry spun carbon MWNT sheets alone and graphene flakes used independent of each other. This nanocomposite deposited onto fluorinated tin-oxide-coated glass showed improved catalytic behavior and power conversion efficiency (7.55%) beyond the use of the MWNTs alone (6.62%) or graphene alone (4.65%) for the triiodide reduction reaction in DSSC. We also compare the use of the carbon MWNT/Gr-F composite counter electrode with a DSSC using the standard Pt counter electrode (8.8%). The details of increased performance of graphene/MWNT composite electrodes as studied are discussed in terms of increased catalytic activity permitted by sharp atomic edges that arise from the structure of graphene flakes or the defect sites in the carbon MWNT and increased electrical conductivity between the carbon MWNT bundles by the graphene flakes.     

Measurement and simulation of lineal energy distribution at the CERN high energy facility with a tissue equivalent proportional counter

The response of a tissue equivalent proportional counter (TEPC) in a mixed radiation field with a neutron energy distribution similar to the radiation field at commercial flight altitudes has been studied. The measurements have been done at the CERN-EU High-Energy Reference Field (CERF) facility where a well-characterised radiation field is available for intercomparison. The TEPC instrument used by the ARC Seibersdorf Research is filled with pure propane gas at low pressure and can be used to determine the lineal energy distribution of the energy deposition in a mass of gas equivalent to a 2 mum diameter volume of unit density tissue, of similar size to the nuclei of biological cells. The linearity of the detector response was checked both in term of dose and dose rate. The effect of dead-time has been corrected. The influence of the detector exposure location and orientation in the radiation field on the dose distribution was also studied as a function of the total dose. The microdosimetric distribution of the absorbed dose as a function of the lineal energy has been obtained and compared with the same distribution simulated with the FLUKA Monte Carlo transport code. The dose equivalent was calculated by folding this distribution with the quality factor as a function of linear energy transfer. The comparison between the measured and simulated distributions show that they are in good agreement. As a result of this study the detector is well characterised, thanks also to the numerical simulations the instrument response is well understood, and it's currently being used onboard the aircrafts to evaluate the dose to aircraft crew caused by cosmic radiation.     

Measurement of lineal-energy distributions for neutrons of 8 keV to 65 MeV by using a tissue-equivalent proportional counter

The lineal-energy spectra for monoenergetic and quasi-monoenergetic neutrons of 8 keV to 65 MeV were obtained using a tissue-equivalent proportional counter (TEPC). The frequency-mean lineal energy, the dose-average lineal energy and mean quality factor were estimated from the measured data. The neutron absorbed doses obtained with this TEPC were compared with the kerma coefticient for A-150 plastic defined by ICRP 26 and the mean quality factors were compared with the data of ICRP 74. respectively. These comparisons indicated good agreement between them.     

Measurement of the neutron fluence and dose spectra using an extended bonner sphere and a tissue-equivalent proportional counter

A conventional Bonner Sphere (BS) set consisting of six polyethylene spheres was modified to enhance its response to a high-energy neutron by putting a lead shell inside a polyethylene moderator. The response matrix of an extended BS was calculated using the MCNPX code and calibrated using a 252Cf neutron source. In order to survey the unknown photon and neutron mixed field, a spherical tissue equivalent proportional counter (TEPC) was constructed and assembled as a portable measurement system. The extended BS and the self-constructed TEPC were employed to determine the dosimetric quantities of the neutron field produced from the thick lead target bombarded by the 2.5 GeV electron beam of Pohang Accelerator Laboratory (PAL) and the neutron calibration field of Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI).     

一种抑制直流大电流源纹波的新型方法

提出一种抑制直流大电流源纹波的新型方法,采用双铁芯磁平衡式电流传感器,使得电感铁芯直流磁通近似为0。非晶铁芯由于其高磁导率特性可等效为一个大的电感器,而电感器的交流阻抗对直流大电流源的纹波有较大抑制作用,从而提高直流大电流源的精度。此新型方法使用双铁芯叠加体积小,电路简单,对大电流直流电流源纹波的抑制效果明显,为检定直流电能表提供更高精度大电流直流源。实践证明:该新型方法中的抑制模块可将输入纹波抑制比控制在5%左右,与传统抑制纹波方法相比,具有低损耗、低成本、高效率和易控制等特点。     

A study of neutron radiation quality with a tissue-equivalent proportional counter for a low-energy accelerator-based in vivo neutron activation facility

The accelerator-based in vivo neutron activation facility at McMaster University has been used successfully for the measurement of several minor and trace elements in human hand bones due to their importance to health. Most of these in vivo measurements have been conducted at a proton beam energy (E(p)) of 2.00 MeV to optimise the activation of the selected element of interest with an effective dose of the same order as that received in chest X rays. However, measurement of other elements at the same facility requires beam energies other than 2.00 MeV. The range of energy of neutrons produced at these proton beam energies comes under the region where tissue-equivalent proportional counters (TEPCs) are known to experience difficulty in assessing the quality factor and dose equivalent. In this study, the response of TEPCs was investigated to determine the quality factor of neutron fields generated via the (7)Li(p, n)(7)Be reaction as a function of E(p) in the range 1.884-2.56 MeV at the position of hand irradiation in the facility. An interesting trend has been observed in the quality factor based on ICRP 60, Q(ICRP60), such that the maximum value was observed at E(p)=1.884 MeV (E(n)=33±16 keV) and then continued to decline with increasing E(p) until achieving a minimum value at E(p)=2.0 MeV despite a continuous increase in the mean neutron energy with E(p). This observation is contrary to what has been observed with direct fast neutrons where the quality factor was found to increase continuously with an increase in E(p) (i.e. increasing E(n)). The series of measurements conducted with thermal and fast neutron fields demonstrate that the (14)N(n, p)(14)C produced 580 keV protons in the detector play an important role in the response of the counter under 2.0 MeV proton energy (E(n) ≤ 250 keV). In contrast to the lower response of TEPCs to low-energy neutrons, the quality factor is overestimated in the range 1-2 depending on beam energy <2.0 MeV. This study provides an insight to understanding the response of TEPCs in low-energy neutron fields where the neutrons are moderated using a polyethylene moderator.     

Graphene as transparent conducting electrodes in organic photovoltaics: studies in graphene morphology, hole transporting layers, and counter electrodes

In this work, organic photovoltaics (OPV) with graphene electrodes are constructed where the effect of graphene morphology, hole transporting layers (HTL), and counter electrodes are presented. Instead of the conventional poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)/poly(styrenesulfonate) PEDOT:PSS HTL, an alternative transition metal oxide HTL (molybdenum oxide (MoO(3))) is investigated to address the issue of surface immiscibility between graphene and PEDOT:PSS. Graphene films considered here are synthesized via low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) using a copper catalyst and experimental issues concerning the transfer of synthesized graphene onto the substrates of OPV are discussed. The morphology of the graphene electrode and HTL wettability on the graphene surface are shown to play important roles in the successful integration of graphene films into the OPV devices. The effect of various cathodes on the device performance is also studied. These factors (i.e., suitable HTL, graphene surface morphology and residues, and the choice of well-matching counter electrodes) will provide better understanding in utilizing graphene films as transparent conducting electrodes in future solar cell applications.     

激光诱导液相电极腐蚀新方法

提出了一种激光诱导液相腐蚀新方法—电极腐蚀法。电极腐蚀法是指进行激光化学液相腐蚀时,在腐蚀溶液中添加电极,以吸引反应中间离子脱离基片表面,实现腐蚀的持续稳定进行。理论分析和实验结果都表明,电极腐蚀法可以有效地加快激光腐蚀的进程;吸附在基片表面的离子在电极作用下,快速迁移出基片表面,保证了基片表面腐蚀溶液构成的稳定,进而得到更加均匀的腐蚀表面;利用电流随腐蚀速率变化而变化的特点,使腐蚀速率和深度的直接监控转变为对腐蚀电流的间接控制,简化腐蚀控制方法。基于以上优点,电极腐蚀法可以克服现有激光腐蚀方法的诸多弊端,改善激光腐蚀性能,在特殊结构光电器件的制作和半导体的微细加工中具有广阔的应用前景。