Geiger-Muller Counters
Transcription
Geiger-Muller Counters
Geiger-Muller Counters ENGG 168 Fall 2009 Amir H. Golnabi Geiger‐Müller Counter G‐M Counter or simply Geiger tube One of the oldest radia9on detector types in existence Quite old but s9ll useful simplicity low cost ease of opera9on Third general category of gas‐filled detectors a@er ion chambers and propor9onal counters Detect ionizing radia9on par9cles wikimedia.org/.../4/40/Geiger_counter.jpg electronickits.com/.../meas/vek2645big.jpg History Johannes (Hans) Wilhelm Geiger: German physicist (1882‐1945) 1902: studied physics and mathema9cs in University of Erlangen. 1907: began work with Ernest Rutherford at the University of Manchester. 1909: conducted the famous Geiger‐Marsden experiment called the gold foil experiment. Together they created the Geiger counter. 1911: discovered the Geiger‐Nu\all law (or rule) and performed experiments that led to Rutherford's atomic model. 1928: Geiger and his student Walther Müller created an improved version of the Geiger counter, the Geiger‐Müller counter. www.webpub.allegheny.edu h\p://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Geiger low‐pressure (~0.1 Atm) inert gas such as helium, neon or argon metal or graphite h\p://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geiger‐Muller_tube G‐M tubes Anode wire ~ 0.1 mm diameter Ar+ α 500-2000V e‐ • Gamma radia9on • Neutrons: no gas ioniza9on neutron‐sensi9ve tubes: • boron or contain boron trifluoride or helium‐3 gas • neutrons interact with the boron nuclei, producing alpha par9cles or with the helium‐3 nuclei producing hydrogen and tri9um ions and electrons Low pressure (~0.1 Atm) inert gas such as helium, neon or argon Window: • Glass‐mantle: beta radia9on and X‐rays (cheaper) • Mica: alpha radia9on (more fragile) Geiger Discharge Ioniza9on along the path of the primary electron strong electric field accelerate low energy electrons towards the center wire Collisions with the fill gas produce excited states (~ 11.6 eV) that decay with the emission of a UV photon and electron‐ion pairs (~ 26.4 eV for argon) The new electrons, plus the original, are accelerated to produce a cascade of ioniza9on called "gas mul9plica9on" or a Townsend avalanche (the mul9plica9on factor for one avalanche is typically 106 to 108.) Photons emi\ed can either directly ionize gas molecules or strike the cathode wall, libera9ng addi9onal electrons that quickly produce addi9onal avalanches at sites removed from the original a dense sheath of ioniza9on propagates along the central wire in both direc9ons, away from the region of ini9al excita9on, producing what is termed a Geiger‐Muller discharge. h\p://www.kronjaeger.com/hv‐old/radio/geiger/caltech/exp2.htm Quenching Posi9ve gas ions that eventually strike the cathode become neutral atoms in an excited Ar+ state by gaining electrons from the cathode. The excited gas atoms return to the ground e‐ state by emi;ng photons and these photons cause avalanches and hence spurious pulse discharge. Problem: endless con9nuous discharge! Solu>on: Quenching • External: external circuitry quench the tube (to remove the high voltage between the electrodes) Large R (~108 ohms) 9me constant of the charge collec9on circuit is of the order of a millisecond • Internal: adding quench gas with lower ioniza9on poten9al and typical concentra9on of 5‐10% Charge transfer collisions • excited quencher gas ions lose their energy not by photon emission but by dissocia>on into neutral quencher molecules limited life9me of 109 counts • Halogens (chlorine or bromine): molecules are replenished by spontaneous recombina9on at a later 9me α Geiger discharge Dead Time Ar+ Electric field is reduced below the cri9cal point by the posi9ve space charge α e‐ No gas mul9plica9on and therefore, a second pulse will not be observed. ~50‐100 microseconds detector is inopera9ve (dead) for the 9me required for the ion sheath to migrate outward far enough for the field gradient to recover above the avalanche threshold h\p://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geiger‐Muller_tube Geiger Coun>ng Plateau Defini9on: voltage range in which the Geiger counter operates. It depends on the characteris9cs of the specific counter. • In this region the poten9al difference in the counter is strong enough to ionize all the gas inside the tube, upon triggering by the incoming ionizing radia9on (alpha, beta or gamma radia9on). • Below the plateau the voltage is not high enough to cause complete discharge • Star9ng voltage • Knee ~50‐100 microseconds felix.physics.sunysb.edu/.../PHY251_Geiger.html References • G. F. Knoll, Radia9on Detec9on and Measurement, 1st Edi9on JOHN WILEY & SONS INC. • The Internet Encyclopedia of Science: Geiger‐Müller counter, <h\p:// www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/G/Geiger‐Muller_counter.html> • Traveling With the Atom, Allegheny College, <h\p:// webpub.allegheny.edu/employee/g/grodgers/Scien9ficTravelingWebsite/ Geiger.html> • The Geiger Counter And Coun9ng Sta9s9cs, Caltech Senior Physics Laboratory, Experiment 2, Sep 1997. • Jonathon Nye, Radia9on Detec9on and Measurement, Emory University, July 2008. • Carl’s Electronics, GEIGER‐MULLER COUNTER KIT, <h\p:// www.electronickits.com/kit/complete/meas/vek2645.htm> • Wikipedia, Hans Geiger, <h\p://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Geiger> • Wikipedia, Geiger–Müller tube, <h\p://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geiger‐ Muller_tube>