Thin- and thick-film real-time gamma radiation detectors

The cruel reality of today's world forces mankind to be alert and prepared for all kinds of terrorist threats, including exposure to radiation. There is a need for cost-effective alternatives to existing commercially available real-time gamma radiation dosimeters. In this paper, numerous oxides such as NiO, CeO/sub 2/, TeO/sub 2/, In/sub 2/O/sub 3/, SiO, MnO, etc., and their mixtures in different proportions were used as the basis for such a substitute. Thin- and thick-film devices were made in the form of resistors and capacitors, structures with interdigitated electrodes, and pn-junctions. These, in different mixtures, were found to change their sensitivity when exposed to /spl gamma/-rays. In general, thin-film devices were found to be more sensitive to lower doses of radiation than the counterpart thick films. However, it was experimentally demonstrated that it is possible to fabricate a device that would satisfy the requirement of a particular application, such as the sensitivity to /spl gamma/-radiation exposure and working dose regions. Based on the above data, these structures might be regarded as a cost-effective alternative for room-temperature real-time /spl gamma/-radiation dosimetry.