CHAPTER TWO

RADIATION DETECTION/INSTRUMENTATION: α-, β- and -radiation

2.1. Chapter Objectives:
By the end of the Chapter, you should be able to;
 Explain the working principle of a Geiger tube.
 Define and discuss radiation detectors.
 Define units for measuring radiation exposure
 Explain the operation of common tools for detecting radioactivity
2.2. Introduction
Detection of radiation is based on the several interaction properties between radiation and matter.
i.e.
1. Radiation causes ionization. What is ionization?
The principle behind any instrumentation could therefore be that of ionization of say a gas by α-,
β- and -radiation and separation of the charges thus produced using an electric field.

The change in position of charges causes a current (moving charges) creates a potential difference
that could be converted into a pulse and amplified. This is the principle behind GM counters.

2. Radiation may excite matter, cause the raising of electrons to higher energy levels. Upon
de-excitation , the electron may release a photon (in the visible region). These optical
electrons my then be detected by means of a multiplier produce a pulse which may be
amplified. This is the basis of scintillation counters used for gamma radiation detection.

3. A charge particle entering the depletion region of a semiconductor material can be detected
under a reverse bias conditions. This is the basis of semiconductor detectors.

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 Figure 1: semiconductor detector working mechanism
2.3. Geiger Counters (Geiger-Müller tube)

GM tube is a device used for the detection and measurement of all types of radiation: alpha, beta
and gamma radiation.
It consists of a pair of electrodes surrounded by a gas.
o The electrodes have a high voltage across them.
o The gas used is usually Helium or Argon.
When radiation enters the tube it can ionize the gas. The ions (and electrons) are attracted to the
electrodes and an electric current is produced. A scaler counts the current pulses, and one obtains
a "count" whenever radiation ionizes the gas. The apparatus consists of two parts, the tube, usually
cylindrical, with a wire down the center (see fig 1) and the (counter + power supply). A high
voltage is established across the cylinder and the wire.

Figure 2: GM tube

Figure 3: Devices such as (a) Geiger counters, (b) scintillators, and (c) dosimeters can be used
to measure radiation.
When radiation enters the tube, ionization may occur. The knocked out electrons are attracted by
the anode and accelerated towards it. This may also cause an ionizing avalanche. The positively
charged ions are attracted to the negative electrode.

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This produces a pulse of current in the wires connecting the electrodes, and this pulse is counted.
After the pulse is counted, the charged ions become neutralized, and the Geiger counter is ready
to record another pulse.

For proper use of the Geiger counter, one must have the appropriate voltage across the electrodes.
If the voltage is too low, the electric field in the tube is too weak to cause a current pulse. If the
voltage is too high, the tube will undergo continuous discharge, and the tube can be damaged.

Figure 4: GM counter plateau graph

The voltage at which the G-M tube just begins to count is called the starting potential. The counting
rate quickly rises as the voltage is increased.

After the quick rise, the counting rate levels off-the plateau region. Eventually, the voltage
becomes too high and we have continuous discharge. The threshold voltage is the voltage where
the plateau region begins. Proper operation is when the voltage is in the plateau region of the curve.
For best operation, the voltage should be selected fairly close to the threshold voltage, and within
the first 1/4 of the way into the plateau region.

2.3.1. Efficiency of the Geiger-counter

The efficiency of a detector is given by the ratio of the (number of particles of radiation
detected)/(number of particles of radiation emitted).

The reason that the efficiency is small for a G-M tube is that a gas is used to absorb the energy. A
gas is not very dense, so most of the radiation passes right through the tube. Unless alpha particles
are very energetic, they will be absorbed in the cylinder that encloses the gas and never even make
it into the G-M tube. If beta particles enter the tube they have the best chance to cause ionization.
Gamma particles themselves have a very small chance of ionizing the gas in the tube. Gamma
particles are detected when they scatter an electron in the metal cylinder around the gas into the
tube. So although the Geiger counter can detect all three types of radiation, it is most efficient for
beta particles and not very efficient for gamma particles.

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Some of the advantages of using a Geiger Counter are:
a) They are relatively inexpensive
b) They are durable and easily portable
c) They can detect all types of radiation

Some of the disadvantages of using a Geiger Counter are:

a) They cannot differentiate which type of radiation is being detected.
b) They cannot be used to determine the exact energy of the detected radiation
c) They have a very low efficiency

2.4. Solid Scintillation Detectors

Recall that radiation may interact with matter, cause electrons to be raised/promoted to an excited
state. (A sub population of ionized atoms can recombine with an ion of opposite sign and also
produce an excited state.) Excited atoms can return to ground state by releasing energy, in some
cases as a photon of light. Such scintillation phenomena form the basis of a set of very sensitive
radiation detection systems.
In solid scintillation systems, a crystal (e.g. sodium iodide (NaI) and Germanium (Ge)) of
inorganic or organic material, the scintillator, is irradiated by the sample. The light emitted in
response to this irradiation is taken as a measure of the amount of radioactivity in the sample. An
example of instrumentation to measure gamma and X-ray radiation is The NaI Multi-Channel
Analyzer (MCA). The MCA system consists of 3 main parts: the detector itself )has two parts: a
scintillation crystal (sodium iodide) and a photo-multiplier tube), the amplifier/power-supply, and
a computer.

2.4.1 Basic principle of the scintillator

Figure 5: Principle of the scintillation detectors.

Fig. 4.1.

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Scintillates are one of the oldest types of radiation detector because measurements could be made
with photographic film. Images could be collected or intensity measurements could be made.
Measurements were also made with the human eye observing the brightness of frequency of
flashes in the scintillator. Nowadays the light output is converted into voltage pulses that are
processed in the same way as pulses from proportional counters, semiconductor detectors etc. The
whole point of scintillation detectors is that we want to produce a large light output in the visible
range.

There are two commonly used types of scintillators, inorganic crystals and organic scintillators.

The scintillation mechanism is different for these two types.

2.4.2 Inorganic Scintillators

The scintillation mechanism depends on the structure of the crystal lattice. In a pure inorganic
crystal lattice such as NaI, electrons are only allowed to occupy selected energy bands. The
forbidden band or band gap is the range of energies in which electrons can never be found in the
pure crystal.

In the pure crystal, absorption of energy can elevate electrons from the valence band to the
conduction band leaving a gap in the valence band. However, the return of an electron to the
valence band with the emission of a photon is an inefficient process. Few photons are released per
decay, the energy is emitted by other mechanisms. In addition, band gap widths in pure crystals
are such that the resulting emitted photon is too high to lie within the visible range.

Figure 6: Band structure for electron energies in solids.

Small amounts of impurities are therefore added to the crystal. Tl is added to NaI in trace amounts.
The impurities are called activators, they create special sites in the lattice at which the band gap
structure, the energy structure, is modified. The energy structure

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 of the overall
crystal is not changed, just the energy structure at the activator sites.

Figure 7: Energy band structure of an inorganic scintillator.

At the few activator sites within the sample, the energy structure is modified. Energy states are
created within what would be the forbidden band in the pure crystal. The electron can de-excite
through these levels back to the valence band.

The energy levels created by the activator’s presence within the crystal are narrower than in the
pure crystal.

 The photons emitted by the transitions of electrons from upper to lower states will be lower in
energy than in the pure crystal: The emission spectrum is shifted to longer wavelengths and will
not be influenced by the optical absorption band of the bulk crystal.

 The photons are emitted in the visible range.

Fig. 4.4. The emission spectra of several common scintillators.

A charged particle (e.g. a photoelectron) passing through the crystal will create a large number
of electron-hole pairs.

• The positive hole quickly drifts to the location of an activator site and the site is ionized. The
activator sites are preferentially ionized because the ionization energy of the activator is less
than a typical lattice site.
• The electron elevated to the conduction band is free to migrate through the crystal and will
do so until it encounters an ionized activation site.

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• The electron drops into the impurity site, creates a neutral impurity configuration with its
own set of excited states. transition

• Excited configuration ground state

• De-excitation occurs quickly with a high probability of photon emission.

• The activator is chosen so that the photon is visible.

• The typical half-life of the activator excited states are 10-7 seconds with the migration of the
electrons through the crystal taking a much shorter time. The timing of the light output is
therefore dependent on the half-life of the state.

Types of inorganic scintillators:

Alkali halide: NaI(Tl), CsI(Tl), CsI(Na), LiI(Ei)

Other slow Inorganics: BGO, CdWO4, ZnS(Ag)

Cerium-Activated Fast Inorganics: GSO, YAP, YAG, LSO, LuAP, LaBr3

2.4.3 Organic Scintillators

The scintillation mechanism in organic materials is quite different from the mechanism in
inorganic crystals. In inorganic scintillators, e.g. NaI, CsI the scintillation arises because of the
structure of the crystal lattice.

The fluorescence mechanism in organic materials arises from transitions in the energy levels of a
single molecule and therefore the fluorescence can be observed independently of the physical state.
For example anthracene is observed to fluoresce as

• a polycrystalline material

• a vapor

• part of a mixed solution

Practical organic scintillators are organic molecules which have symmetry properties associated
with the electron structure.

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Dr. Kamweru P.K. PHYS 394: Radiobiology and Radiotracer Techniques
Lecture Notes; Chapter One

Figure 8: Energy levels of organic molecules.

Energy from a charged particle is absorbed and excites the electron into a variety of excited states
- the singlet states (spin = 0) are labeled S1, S2, S3 in Fig. 6. For organic scintillators the spacing
between S0 and S1 is 3 to 4 eV, the spacing between the upper states is much smaller.

Each of the S levels is subdivided into a series of levels with much finer structure (corresponding
to the vibrational states of the molecule). The typical spacing is 0.15 eV. The 2nd subscript denotes
the fine structure level.

Spacing between S states is 3-4 eV, spacing in vibrational structure is 0.15 eV

2.4.4 Scintillation Mechanism

• At room temperature, average energy is approximately 0.025 eV so all molecules are in
the S00 state.

• When the charged particle passes through, kinetic energy is absorbed by the molecules,
and electrons are excited to the upper levels.

• The higher states S2, S3, de-excite quickly (picoseconds) to S1 state through
radiationless transitions (internal conversion).

• States such as S11, S12 that have extra vibrational energy and are not in thermal
equilibrium with neighboring molecules, quickly lose energy.

After negligibly short time a population of excited molecules in S10 state is produced as the net
effect of the excitation process.

Scintillation light, prompt fluorescence, is emitted in transitions between S10 and the ground state.
The prompt fluorescence intensity at time t following excitation is described by

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Prof. Kamweru P.K.
Dr. Kamweru P.K. PHYS 394: Radiobiology and Radiotracer Techniques
Lecture Notes; Chapter One

𝐼 = 𝐼0 𝑒 −𝑡/𝜏
where τ is the fluorescence decay time for the S10 level.

In most organic scintillators, τ is the order of a few nanoseconds therefore organic scintillators are
fast.

The lifetime for the T1 state is much longer than the S1 state. T1 is populated by a transition called
an intersystem crossing. The lifetime of the T1 state can be ms.

T1 → S0 transitions give rise to phosphorescence (delayed light emission).

T1 lies below S0, therefore the wavelength of the emitted phosphorescence is longer than the
wavelength of the fluorescent light. The phosphorescent light can be discriminated from the
scintillation light on the basis of timing and wavelength.

The energy level scheme explains why organic scintillators can be transparent to their own
fluorescence emission. All fluorescence emissions (except S10 → S00) have a lower energy than
the minimum required for absorption. There is little overlap between emission and absorption
spectra, therefore the emitted light mostly passes straight on through the scintillation medium.

Types of organic scintillators:

 Pure organic crystals: Anthracene, Stilbene

 Liquid organic solutions: by dissolving an organic scintillator in a solvent

 Plastic scintillators: dissolving & polymerizing

2.4.5 Photomultiplier Tubes (PMT) and Photodiodes

In order to provide a useful measurement device, an electrical signal has to be formed from the
scintillation light. Two main types of device are used to do this; the photomultiplier tube and the
photodiode.

A. Photomultiplier Tube (PMT)

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Prof. Kamweru P.K.
Dr. Kamweru P.K. PHYS 394: Radiobiology and Radiotracer Techniques
Lecture Notes; Chapter One
Photomultiplier tubes are extremely good at converting light into an electrical signal; electrical
pulses can be obtained from a few hundred visible photons.

Photocathode

Photomultiplier tubes are vacuum tubes in which the first major component is a photocathode. A
light photon may interact in the photocathode to eject a low-energy electron into the vacuum. This
process can be thought to occur in three steps

1) absorption of the photon and energy transfer to the electron in the photocathode material

2) the migration of the photoelectron to the surface of the photocathode

3) escape of the electron from the photocathode surface.

Figure 9: Basic elements of a PMT.

The energy available to be transferred from a scintillation photon to an electron is, for blue
scintillation light, approximately 3 eV. However, some of this energy is lost in electron- electron
collisions as the electron migrates to the surface and then the potential barrier at the surface vacuum
interface (the work function) must be overcome in order for the electron to enter the vacuum. There
are therefore energy limitations on the system posed by the potential barrier at the surface/vacuum
interface and the interactions in the material.

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Prof. Kamweru P.K.
Dr. Kamweru P.K. PHYS 394: Radiobiology and Radiotracer Techniques
Lecture Notes; Chapter One
Some limitations are placed on the materials that can be used for the photocathode. Typically
metals have a work function of 3 ~ 4 eV, semiconductors 1.5 ~ 2 eV.

In addition, the thickness of the material that can generate photoelectrons into the vacuum is
limited, because there is a rate of energy loss as the electron migrates to the surface. For metals
this energy loss rate is relatively high and an electron will have its energy drop below the potential
barrier after traveling only a few nanometers. In semiconductors the electron can travel 20 – 30
nanometers, before its energy drops below the barrier. In either case only a thin layer of material
contributes photoelectrons into the vacuum. The cathodes are sometimes designed so that the light
is incident on one side, while the electrons are ejected on the other. The photocathode is therefore
extremely thin, because of the problems of electron interaction in the material, and is therefore
semi-transparent to visible light. This means that a large proportion (more than half) of the light
passes straight through without interacting with the photocathode.
Even if the work function is low, the necessary thinness of the photocathode means that they can
only convert, at best, a small proportion of the photons.

The problems of work function and electron interactions in the material mean, in addition, that all
photocathodes have an energy cut-off with respect to the frequency of the light that can generate
photoelectrons into the vacuum. Some light frequencies cannot create electrons with enough
energy to overcome the potential barrier. The energy cut-off is usually in the infra-red or near
infra-red part of the spectrum.

The sensitivity of a photocathode is usually quoted in terms of the quantum efficiency. The
quantum efficiency of the photocathode is defined as the probability for the conversion of light to
an electrical signal and is defined as

Quantum efficiency = number of photoelectrons emitted/ number of incident photons

The quantum efficiency is a strong function of wavelength of the incident light, and an effort is
made to match the spectral response of the photocathode to the emission spectrum of the
scintillator in use. The average quantum efficiency over the emission spectrum of a typical
scintillator is about 15 to 20 percent while the peak quantum efficiency is 25 ~ 30 %. The standard
for quotation is the number of photoelectrons per keV energy loss by fast electrons in a NaI(Tl)
crystal. For the peak quantum efficiency, about 8 ~ 10 photoelectrons are produced per keV energy
loss. Therefore, the average energy loss required to create a single photoelectron (or one basic
information carrier) is ~ 100 eV, which is much bigger than the values in gas-filled or
semiconductor detectors. Presently, multialkali (based on Na2KSb) and bialkali (based on
K2CsSb) materials are usually used for the photocathode.

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Prof. Kamweru P.K.
 Dr. Kamweru P.K. PHYS 394: Radiobiology and Radiotracer Techniques
Lecture Notes; Chapter One
Electron Multiplication

A PMT takes the electrical signal from the photocathode and amplifies through a dynode chain by
the process of electron multiplication.

Electrons are ejected from the photocathode into the vacuum with an energy of ≈ 1 eV and are
accelerated by a voltage of a few hundred volts toward an electrode. The accelerated electron has
an energy of a few hundred electron volts upon arrival at the electrode; this deposition of kinetic
energy can result in the re-emission of secondary electrons. It typically takes 2-3 eV to excite an
electron in the dynode, so 100 V can theoretically create ≈ 30 electrons.

However, there is the same problem as in the

photocathode; electrons must be near the
surface to be emitted, otherwise they lose too
much energy through collisions and are unable
to overcome the potential barrier at the
surface. Only a small proportion of the
electrons excited up to the conduction band
reaches the surface and creates secondary
electrons.

The overall multiplication factor for a single

Figure 10: The spectral sensitivities of photocathode materials.
dynode is given by

δ = number of secondary electrons

emitted / primary incident electron

is typically 4 ~ 6 for voltages of a few hundred volts.

Multiple Stage Multiplication

Photomultiplier tubes employ dynode chains of several stages of multiplication to create electron
gains of the order of 106.

Electrons are created in the photocathode, and accelerated toward the first dyode, where secondary
electrons are emitted. The secondary electrons are accelerated by the electric field toward a second
dynode, where they create secondary electrons, and so on. This can be repeated many times.

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Prof. Kamweru P.K.
Dr. Kamweru P.K. PHYS 394: Radiobiology and Radiotracer Techniques
Lecture Notes; Chapter One
N
The overall gain for the PM tube = αδ

Where N is the number of multiplication stages, α is the fraction of electrons collected by the
multiplier structure, and δ is the multiplication factor for a single electrode.

For typical tubes δ is around 5 and α approaches unity. 10 stages of multiplication result in an
10 7
overall tube gain of 5 or 10 .

Statistics of Electron Multiplication

The emission of secondary electrons from the dynodes is a statistical process, so the multiplication
factor δ is not a fixed constant but varies from event to event around a mean value. Therefore
pulses are amplified overall down the dynode chain by a mean value which has some statistical
variation.
We measure a final mean voltage that has statistical spread, i.e. we measure not just a single
energy, but a mean energy with a spread. The dynode chain therefore affects the energy resolution
of the system.

We can assume a simple model where the production of secondary electrons follows a Poisson
distribution about an average yield.

A single photoelectron incident on the first dynode results in a mean number of secondary electrons
of δ±√δ. The relative variance is thus 1/δ.

The process is compounded over N identical stages of the PM tube, and the mean number of
N
electrons collected at the anode is given by δ .

2 3 N
The relative variance in this number is 1/δ+1/δ +1/δ +…+1/δ ≅ 1/(δ-1)

The variance in the dynode chain adds to the poor observed energy resolution of scintillation
detectors.

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Prof. Kamweru P.K.
Dr. Kamweru P.K. PHYS 394: Radiobiology and Radiotracer Techniques
Lecture Notes; Chapter One

Figure 11: Different configurations of PMTs.

B. Photodiodes

An alternative way to detect the scintillation light is the use of a silicon photodiode. This is a
semiconductor device which consists of a thin layer of silicon in which the light is absorbed after
which free charge carriers (electrons and holes) are created. Electron and holes are collected at the
anode and cathode of the diode. Most frequently used are PIN diodes operated in reverse bias
mode.

Photodiodes have potential advantages: higher quantum efficiency and compact size. However,
electronic noise is a major problem due to the small signal amplitude.

2.5. Liquid Scintillation Detector

LSC detects radioactivity via the same type of light emission events which are used in solid
scintillation. Liquid scintillation cocktails absorb the energy emitted by radioisotopes and re-emit
it as flashes of light. To accomplish these two actions, absorption and re-emission, cocktails
contain two basic components, the solvent and the phosphor(s). The solvent carries out the bulk of
the energy absorption. Dissolved in the solvent, molecules of phosphor convert the absorbed
energy into light. Photo-multiplier tubes are placed around the liquid to detect this emitted light.

2.5.1. Role of the solvent

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Prof. Kamweru P.K.
Dr. Kamweru P.K. PHYS 394: Radiobiology and Radiotracer Techniques
Lecture Notes; Chapter One
To ensure that all the radiation energy is delivered to the phosphor(s) or fluor(s) before being spent,
the solvent must;
- act as an efficient collector of energy,
- conduct that energy to the phosphor molecules instead of dissipating the energy by some
other mechanism.
- not quench the scintillation of the phosphor, and, finally,
- dissolve the phosphor to produce a stable, countable solution.

2.5.2. The Role of Phosphors (Scintillators)

Scintillators (phosphors/fluors) are of two types;
- Primary scintillators: these converts radiation energy to right energy directly
- Secondary scintillators: captures the fluorescence energy of the excited primary scintillator,
and re-emits it as a longer wave length signal.

2.5.3. Important Features of

LSC
The liquid scintillation detector has
nice features for biologists:
1. Biological samples
are often in liquid
form, or can be placed
in liquids.
2. Hydrogen and carbon
are common elements
in biological samples, and can be tagged using 3H (tritium) and 14C. These two
isotopes are beta emitters.
3. The liquid scintillation detector is very efficient since the sample is placed in the
detecting material.

2.5.4. LS signal Interpretation

The number of photons generated is directly proportional to the path length of the β particle, which
is in turn determined by its emission energy (the β particle rebounds from solvent molecule to
solvent molecule, until its incident energy is exhausted). The intensity of each light pulse therefore
corresponds to the emission energy and the number of pulses per second corresponds to the number
of radioactive emissions.
The scintillation counter classifies each pulse of photons according to the number of photons in
the pulse, which corresponds to the energy of the individual β emission event. Pulses are collated
into channels, and Counts per Minute (CPM) for each channel recorded. The lowest channel
corresponds to the energy of 3H emissions, the highest to 32P.

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Prof. Kamweru P.K.
Dr. Kamweru P.K. PHYS 394: Radiobiology and Radiotracer Techniques
Lecture Notes; Chapter One

Counting efficiency is equal to CPM/DPM, the ratio of Counts per Minute (CPM) to
Disintegrations per Minute (DPM) expressed as a percentage. Counting efficiency varies for
different isotopes, sample compositions and scintillation counters.

Quenching is the loss of counts

due to sample or cocktail
characteristics and may result
from a variety of components in
a sample. Quenchers are
customarily divided into the
categories of chemical
quenchers or color quenchers.
Chemical quenchers absorb
radioactive energy before it is
converted to light. Therefore, chemical quenchers reduce the number of photons generated by each
β-particle. Color quenchers absorb light in the range of the wavelength emitted by the scintillator.
In this case the number of photons emitted is not changed, but the number reaching the
photomultiplier tube is reduced. In both types of quenching, the energy of all light pulses is
reduced, and the total CPM is reduced by the number of pulses quenched to below detectable
levels. This leads to an underestimate of the total counts, and thus of the isotope present. It also
leads to an apparent shift in the energy spectrum of the sample.

2.6. Radiation doses/Measurement Units

Absorbed dose

The gray (Gy) unit.

This is the Radiation energy (joules) absorbed per unit mass (kg) of matter. It is usually measured
in ergs per gram or joules per kilogram. Absorbed dose does not take into account the radiation
quality or the tissue in question.

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Prof. Kamweru P.K.
Dr. Kamweru P.K. PHYS 394: Radiobiology and Radiotracer Techniques
Lecture Notes; Chapter One
2.6.1 Equivalent dose
The absorbed dose in Gy, corrected by application of the radiation weighting factor WR. This
accounts for the increased toxicity caused by densely ionising radiations such as alpha particles.
The correction factor, Weighting Factor (WR), applied to the absorbed dose to account for the
altered biological effect of different radiations. The radiation weighting factors recommended by
the ICRP are:

2.6.2 Effective Dose Units

The sievert (Sv).
• Effective dose is used to represent “how good” the absorbed dose of radiation might be at
producing an effect – so it accounts for the effectiveness or quality of the radiation.
• Effective dose also includes a factor representing the sensitivity of the tissue to the
radiation – so it also accounts for how the tissue might react.
• The equivalent dose in Sv, corrected by application of tissue weighting factors for
individual tissues WT. The weighting factors
for every tissue add up to 1.
• Tissue Weighting Factor (WT); The
correction factor applied to the equivalent
dose to account for the varied risks of
stochastic effects in different tissues. The
tissue weighting factors recommended by the
ICRP are:

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Prof. Kamweru P.K.
Dr. Kamweru P.K. PHYS 394: Radiobiology and Radiotracer Techniques
Lecture Notes; Chapter One

2.7. Problems & Exercises

1. Outline how dilution may be employed in the correction of quenching effects in liquid
scintillation.
2. List three features that makes the liquid scintillation detector important for biologists.
3. Instrumentation of radiation detection principles are based on how radiation interacts with
matter. Mention three interactions that are useful in radiation detection.
4. In an experiment to determine the working voltage of a GM tube, the following graph was
obtained.

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Prof. Kamweru P.K.
Dr. Kamweru P.K. PHYS 394: Radiobiology and Radiotracer Techniques
Lecture Notes; Chapter One

Typical GM tube Counts

16000
14000
12000
10000
Counts

8000
6000
4000
2000
0

Tube Voltage

Following from the graph determine the following

i. Starting voltage
[Link] operating voltage
iii. Breakdown voltage
iv. Continuous discharge region
5. With the aid of relevant sketches, explain the working of a Geiger Müller Counter.
6. Explain how the count rate varies with increase of voltage, starting with lower voltages than
the starting voltage.
7.
i. A major problem within the gas ionization chamber is the recombination of primary
ion pairs. Explain how this problem is overcome in order to detect radioactivity
effectively.
ii. The primary ion pairs formed in a gas ionization may be greatly amplified to increase
the pulse detected. Discuss the process by which this occurs.
iii. Explain why effective detection of radioactivity is not possible when the ionization
chamber is operated at certain voltage ranges.
8. Mr Juma carried out a liquid scintillation count on a radiactive sample. He corrected for
quenching using an internal standard and generated the following counts:
Sample activity-5325 cpm
Absolute count of internal standard- 12 000 dpm
Activity of sample together with internal standard- 9340 cpm
i.
Calculate the real activity of the sample
ii.
Where available, external standardization provides greater convenience than internal
standardization as a method for quench correction. Explain how this is so
iii. Discuss the precautions that are taken in fluorography to avoid quenching within a gel.
9. Explain how counting of discrete samples is done in Liquid Scintillation Counting and discuss
why and how sample neutralization and decolorizing are done.

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Prof. Kamweru P.K.
Dr. Kamweru P.K. PHYS 394: Radiobiology and Radiotracer Techniques
Lecture Notes; Chapter One
10. Describe the energy transfer process in liquid scintillation counting (LSC) and how the use of
secondary flour improves detection efficiency.
11. Discuss the advantages if liquid scintillation counting and its inherent problems
12. Describe how you would use the channels ration method to correct quenching in scintillation
counting.
13.
i. Discuss the functioning of the photomultiplier tube in radiological scintillation systems
ii. Explain how the thermal noise produced by the multiplier tube is minimized in LSC
14.
i. With the aid of an energy (Jablonski) diagram, describe the energy transfer process in liquid
scintillation counting (LSC).
ii. Explain how the use of secondary flour improves detection efficiency.

15. The graph shows how the count rate from a sample containing the radioactive substance
cobalt-60 changes with time.

(i) What is the range of the count rate shown on the graph? From .................... counts per
second to .................... counts per second?
(ii) How many years does it take for the count rate to fall from 200 counts per second to 100
counts per second? Time = ............................... years
(iii)What is the half-life of cobalt-60? Half-life =............ years
16. Explain why effective detection of radioactivity is not possible wen the ionization chamber is
operated at certain voltage ranges.
17. Give a brief discourse on the principles underlying external sample scintillation, making
special mention on the role of the photomultiplier tube.
18. Explain the benefits of employing a secondary flour in liquid scintillation counting.
19. Discuss how a Geiger counter is used in the detection of radioactivity
i. A major problem within the gas ionization chamber is the recombination of primary
ion pairs. Explain how this problem is overcome in order to detect radioactivity
effectively
ii. The primary ion pairs formed in gas ionization may be greatly amplified to increase the
pulse detected. Discuss the process by which this occurs.
iii. Explain why effective detection of radioactivity is not possible when the ionization
chamber is operated at certain voltage ranges
20. Geiger-Muller tube is an indispensable tool in a radiology laboratory what is the function of
this tool.
21. Figure 2 shows the photomultiplier tube for radiation detection. Explain the function
of dynodes and photocathode in photomultiplier tube. (2 marks)

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Prof. Kamweru P.K.
Dr. Kamweru P.K. PHYS 394: Radiobiology and Radiotracer Techniques
Lecture Notes; Chapter One

Figure 12

22. A photomultiplier tube (PMT) is a device that is capable of detecting single photons. The tube
contains a thin layer of caesium, a metal with a work function o of 1.8 eV, which acts as the
tube's photocathode. A photon striking the caesium can liberate an electron from the metal.
The photoelectric current is amplified electronically to produce a signal that can be measured
with an oscilloscope.
(i) What is the longest wavelength of light that a PMT with a caesium cathode can detect?
(ii) What will the energy of the ejected electrons be in eV, if light with a wavelength of 532 nm
strikes the cathode.
(iii)Why is it impossible to detect light in the far infra-red region (1> 5um) with a photomultiplier?
(iv) Briefly describe two features of the photoelectric effect, which cannot be ac- counted for
classically.
(v) The probability that a photon hitting the photocathode will eject a photoelec- tron is called
quantum efficiency. The quantum efficiency of the above caesium photocathode is 20%. What
current is produced if a beam of light with a wave- length of 532 nm from a laser running at
25 kW is directed at this photocathode?

23. With reference to a Gamma Camera, as used in Nuclear Medicine imaging, describe and
explain:
(i) The process by which gamma photons are detected, culminating in the production of signals
in the form of electronic pulses;
(ii) How and why processing of these signals enables the detected gamma photon energy to be
determined and the importance of this;
(iii)The fundamental differences between Nuclear Medicine images, as produced on a Gamma
Camera, and X-ray images, highlighting the relevance of these differences to diagnosis.

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Prof. Kamweru P.K.