Phys.org March 22, 2019 Researchers at the University of Maryland present a proof-of-principle demonstration of a remote detection scheme using mid-infrared laser–induced avalanche breakdown of air. They observed on-off breakdown sensitivity to the presence of an external radioactive source. They correlated the shift of the temporal onset of avalanche to the degree of seed ionization from the source. They present scaling of the interaction with laser intensity, verify observed trends with numerical simulations, and discuss the use of mid-IR laser–driven electron avalanche breakdown to detect radioactive material at range. The method could be used to scan trucks and shipping containers […]
Tag Archives: Radiation detector
New technique offers rapid assessment of radiation exposure
Eurekalert January 9, 2019 Researchers at the North Carolina State University have developed a new technique which relies on testing crystalline insulators found in everything from thumb drives to smartphones. Because the technique is high-throughput, accurate and precise, it can adequately assess an individual’s exposure in about an hour. The insulator should be removed from its electronic device, cleaned and placed in a thermally stimulated luminescence reader, which collects spectra relating to the number of electrons found in the flaws inherent to the sample’s crystalline structure. That spectral data is then fed into a custom algorithm that calculates the sample’s […]