Detection and dosimetry studies on the response of silicon diodes to an²⁴¹Am-Be source

Abstract

Silicon diode detectors show potential for the development of an active personal dosimeter for neutron and photon radiation. Photons interact with the constituents of the diode detector and produce electrons. Fast neutrons interact with the constituents of the diode detector and converter, producing recoil nuclei and causing (n,α) and (n,p) reactions. These photonand neutron-induced charged particles contribute to the response of diode detectors. In this work, a silicon pin diode was used as a detector to produce pulses created by photon and neutron. A polyethylene fast neutron converter was used as a recoil proton source in front of the detector. The total registered photon and neutron efficiency and the partial contributions of the efficiency, due to interactions with the diode and converter, were calculated. The results show that the efficiency of the converter-diode is a function of the incident photon and neutron energy. The optimized thicknesses of the converter for neutron detection and neutron dosimetry were found to be 1 mm and 0.1 mm respectively. The neutron records caused by the (n,α) and (n,p) reactions were negligible. The photon records were strongly dependent upon the energy and the depletion layer of the diode. The photons and neutrons efficiency of the diode-based dosimeter was calculated by the MCNPX code, and the results were in good agreement with experimental results for photons and neutrons from an 241 Am-Be source.