LEVEL 3 LABORATORY

High Energy Physics

Emergency Dosimetry – Electronic Components

Objectives of the Project

• Investigate the potential of Metal-Oxide Field Effect Transistors and other devices to be used as emergency dosimeters.

• Investigate the effect irradiation on the properties of the devices.

Apparatus

• pMOSFETs and other components.
• Keithley Multimeters.
• Programmable Power Supply.
• Radiation sources e.g. x-ray generator, beta particle source.

Experimental Procedure

1. Construct a circuit to measure the current ( I) – voltage (V) characteristic of the devices.
2. Develop the LabView software to automate data collection.
3. Measure the I – V characteristic before irradiation and after increasing doses of radiation.
4. Investigate the effect of using different types of ionising radiation.
5. Try ‘resetting’ the properties of the devices by heating it above room temperature.

Safety and Precautions

All irradiations must be done in a shielded environment following procedures described in the safety documentation.

References

• Attix, F.H.: Introduction to Radiological Physics and Radiation Dosimetry
• Leo, W.R.: Techniques for Nuclear and Particle Physics Experiments
• Schrimpf, R.D. and Fleetwood, D.M. : Radiation Effects And Soft Errors In Integrated Circuits And Electronic Devices
• Useful statistics

External links

• NIST Physics Laboratory Holdings by Element Useful listing of spectral and nuclear data organised in a periodic table.
• Table of nuclides. From the Nuclear Data Evaluation Lab. Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute