Radiation detector and radiation detection method

• US 9,523,776 B2
• Filed: 09/02/2014
• Issued: 12/20/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Kuroda, Hidehiko, Nakayama, Kunihiko, Takakura, Kei, Izumi, Mikio
• Primary Examiner(s): Porta, David
• Assistant Examiner(s): Malevic, Djura
• Application Number:
  US14/474,437
• Publication Number:
  US 20150323678A1
• Time in Patent Office: 840 Days
• Field of Search: 250/361.R, 250/362, 250/368
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01T 1/026 Semiconductor dose-rate meters
• CPC Class Codes: G01T 1/169 Exploration, location of contaminated surface areas
• CPC Class Codes: G01T 1/178 for measuring specific activity in the presence of other radioactive substances, e.g. natural, in the air or in liquids such as rain water
• CPC Class Codes: G01T 1/18 with counting-tube arrangements, e.g. with Geiger counters tubes H01J47/08; with alarm provision G01T7/125
• CPC Class Codes: G01T 1/205 the detector being a gas
• CPC Class Codes: G01T 1/24 with semiconductor detectors

Abstract

An embodiment of a radiation detector has: a light collecting member; a photo detector that can receive light collected by the light collecting member and count number of photons; a wavelength selector that can selectively transmit light based on the light emission of gas caused by alpha rays by selectively transmitting light of a wavelength in a specific range; a shielding device that is can switch between an opened state in which it transmits light and a closed state in which it shields light; and a counting unit that calculates an alpha dose based on a difference calculated by subtracting number of noise photons detected in the photo detector within a predetermined time period when the shielding device is in the closed state from the number of photons received by the photo detector within the predetermined time period when the shielding device is opened state.

Claims

1. A radiation detector comprising:

a light collecting member that can collect observation light based on light emission of gas caused by alpha rays;

a photo detector that can receive light collected by the light collecting member and count number of photons;

a wavelength selector that is disposed on an optical path at an upstream side of the photo detector and can selectively transmit light based on the light emission of gas caused by alpha rays by selectively transmitting light of a wavelength in a specific range;

a counting unit that is configured to calculate an alpha dose based on a difference subtracting a number of noise photons at the photo detector under a first condition where the light emission of gas caused by alpha rays is not collected to the photo detector, from the number of photons detected at the photo detector under a second condition where light emission of gas caused by alpha rays is collected to the photo detector; and

a polarization selecting element that is disposed on an optical path at an upstream side of the light collecting member and reduces incidence of light other than the light based on light emission of gas caused by alpha rays that enters the photo detector depending on a polarization direction, by selecting a direction of the light that has been linearly polarized in which noise light is weakest so as to reduce noise light included in the observation light.

2. The radiation detector according to claim 1, further comprising a shielding device that is disposed on an optical path upstream side of the photo detector and that can switch between a closed state and an opened state to form the first condition and the second condition respectively,

wherein the number of the noise photons is counted by the photo detector while the shielding device is switched to the closed state.

3. The radiation detector according to claim 1, further comprising:

a temperature measuring device that measures an ambient temperature in a vicinity of the photo detector;

wherein the noise photons includes thermal noise,

wherein the number of the noise photons is configured to be calculated based on a thermal noise count function representing a relationship between a count number of the thermal noise and the ambient temperature measured by the temperature measuring device in the first condition.

4. The radiation detector according to claim 3, further comprising:

an ambient dose measuring device that measures an ambient dose in a vicinity of the photo detector;

wherein the noise photons includes the thermal noise and dose noise,

wherein the number of the noise photons is configured to be calculated based on the thermal noise count function and a dose noise count function representing a relationship between a count number of the dose noise and the ambient dose measured by the ambient dose measuring device in the first condition.

5. The radiation detector according to claim 1, further comprising:

an ambient dose measuring device that measures an ambient dose in a vicinity of the photo detector;

wherein the noise photons includes dose noise,

wherein the number of the noise photons is configured to be calculated based on a dose noise count function representing a relationship between a count number of the dose noise and the ambient dose measured by the ambient dose measuring device in the first condition.

6. The radiation detector according to claim 1, further comprising:

an ambient dose measuring device that measures an ambient dose in a vicinity of the photo detector; and

a temperature measuring device that measures an ambient temperature in the vicinity of the photo detector;

wherein the noise photons includes dose noise,

wherein the number of the noise photons is configured to be calculated based on an ambient noise count function representing a relationship among a count number of ambient noise, the ambient dose measured by the ambient dose measuring device, and the ambient temperature measured by the temperature measuring device in the first condition.

7. The radiation detector according to claim 1, further comprising an observation range selecting element which is disposed on an optical path upstream side of the photo detector and which removes light that enters the photo detector from outside an observation range.

8. The radiation detector according to claim 1, further comprising an image measuring unit that measures an image of a range within which the light based on light emission of gas caused by alpha rays.

9. The radiation detector according to claim 8, wherein

the light based on light emission of gas caused by alpha rays is ultraviolet rays,

the light collecting member has a spectroscope that separates light into ultraviolet rays and visible light rays, and collects the separated ultraviolet rays, and

the image measuring unit performs the image measurement based on the visible light rays separated by the spectroscope.

10. A radiation detector comprising:

a light collecting member that can collect light based on light emission of gas caused by alpha rays;

a photo detector that can receive light collected by the light collecting member and count number of photons;

a wavelength selector that is disposed on an optical path at an upstream side of the photo detector and can selectively transmit light based on the light emission of gas caused by alpha rays by selectively transmitting light of a wavelength in a specific range, and

a counting unit that is configured to calculate an alpha dose based on a difference subtracting a number of noise photons at the photo detector under a first condition where the light emission of gas caused by alpha rays is not collected to the photo detector, from the number of photons detected at the photo detector under a second condition where light emission of gas caused by alpha rays is collected to the photo detector, wherein

the light collecting member includes;

a first concave mirror for reflecting and collecting the light; and

a second mirror, wherein

the first concave mirror has a through hole formed therein for the light reflected on the first collecting mirror and the second mirror to pass through.

11. A radiation detection method comprising:

selecting polarization of observation light based on light emission of gas caused by alpha rays depending on a polarization direction, by selecting a direction of the light that has been linearly polarized in which noise light is weakest so as to reduce noise light included in the observation light;

collecting the light as collected light based on light in which the polarization has been selected in the selecting polarization step;

selectively transmitting the collected light having a specific wavelength range;

detecting the light collected and selectively transmitted by a photo detector;

obtaining a number of noise photons at the photo detector in a shielded condition where the light based on light emission of gas caused by alpha rays is shielded; and

calculating an alpha dose based on a difference subtracting the number of noise photons obtained from the number of photons detected at the photo detector.

12. The radiation detection method according to claim 11,

wherein the number of the noise photons is obtained by counting a number of the photons detected at the photo detector in the shielded condition.

13. The radiation detection method according to claim 11, further comprising:

determining a thermal noise count function representing a relationship between the count number of thermal noise at the photo detector and an ambient temperature in the shielded condition; and

measuring a temperature in a vicinity of the photo detector during collecting the light as the collected light;

wherein the number of the noise photon is calculated with the thermal noise count number based on the thermal noise count function by substituting the temperature measured in the vicinity of the photo detector as the ambient temperature.

14. The radiation detection method according to claim 11, further comprising:

determining a dose noise count function representing a relationship between a count number of dose noise and an ambient dose in the shielded condition;

measuring an ambient dose in a vicinity of the photo detector during collection of the light as the collected light;

wherein the number of the noise photon is calculated with the count number of dose noise based on the dose noise count function by substituting the ambient dose in the vicinity of the photo detector as the ambient dose.