A scintillation counter is an instrument for detecting and measuring ionizing radiation by using the excitation effect of incident radiation on a scintillating material, and detecting the resultant light pulses. It consists of a scintillator which generates photons in response to incident radiation, a sensitive photodetector (usually a photomultiplier tube (PMT), a charge-coupled device (CCD) camera, or a photodiode), which converts the light to an electrical signal and electronics to process this signal. Scintillation counters are widely used in radiation protection, assay of radioactive materials and physics research because they can be made inexpensively yet with good quantum efficiency, and can measure both the intensity and the energy of incident radiation. The first electronic scintillation counter was invented in 1944 by Sir Samuel Curran whilst he was working on the Manhattan Project at the University of California at Berkeley. There was a requirement to measure the radiation from small quantities of uranium, and his innovation was to use one of the newly-available highly sensitive photomultiplier tubes made by the Radio Corporation of America to accurately count the flashes of light from a scintillator subjected to radiation. This built upon the work of earlier researchers such as Antoine Henri Becquerel, who discovered radioactivity whilst working on the phosphorescence of uranium salts in 1896. Previously, scintillation events had to be laboriously detected by eye, using a spinthariscope (a simple microscope) to observe light flashes in the scintillator. The first commercial liquid scintillation counter was made by Lyle E. Packard and sold to Argonne Cancer Research Hospital at the University of Chicago in 1953. The production model was designed especially for tritium and carbon-14 which were used in metabolic studies in vivo and in vitro. When an ionizing particle passes into the scintillator material, atoms are excited along a track. For charged particles the track is the path of the particle itself.

About this result
This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.
Related courses (9)
PHYS-452: Radiation detection
The course presents the detection of ionizing radiation in the keV and MeV energy ranges. Physical processes of radiation/matter interaction are introduced. All steps of detection are covered, as well
PHYS-440: Particle detection
The course will cover the physics of particle detectors. It will introduce the experimental techniques used in nuclear and particle physics. The lecture includes the interaction of particles with matt
MSE-600: Effects of radiation on materials
The purpose of this course is to provide the necessary background to understand the effects of irradiation on pure metals and on alloys used in the nuclear industry. The relation between the radiation
Show more
Related lectures (33)
Radiation Detection: Scintillation Detectors
Covers the history and principles of scintillation detectors, types of detectors, crystal examples, and detector applications.
Scintillation Detectors: Principles and Types
Covers the principles and types of scintillation detectors, including organic and inorganic scintillators, neutron detection, light collection, and photomultiplier tubes.
Radiation Detection: Combining and Comparing Systems
Explores the Fano factor in ionization-based detectors and compares different detector types for superior resolution power.
Show more
Related publications (67)

Gamma-ray Spectroscopy in Low-Power Nuclear Research Reactors

Andreas Pautz, Vincent Pierre Lamirand, Oskari Ville Pakari

Gamma-ray spectroscopy is an effective technique for radioactive material characterization, routine inventory verification, nuclear safeguards, health physics, and source search scenarios. Gamma-ray spectrometers typically cannot be operated in the immedia ...
MDPI2024

High-resolution scintillation detector for two-dimensional reconstruction

Alessandro Mapelli, Arnaud Bertsch, Fabrizio Carbone, Veronica Leccese

A scintillation device including a silicon plate having a rectangular shape and having a first side and a second side opposite the first side, wherein the first side includes a plurality of first channels arranged to be in parallel with each other extendin ...
2023

Method for manufacturing an active structure for a radiation detector and polymeric mold for the method

Alessandro Mapelli, Arnaud Bertsch, Fabrizio Carbone, Veronica Leccese

A method for manufacturing a scintillation detector structure including the steps of forming a plurality of first structures into a surface of a substrate to form a patterned substrate, filling the plurality of first structures and covering the surface of ...
2023
Show more
Related concepts (16)
Scintillator
A scintillator ('sɪntɪleɪtər ) is a material that exhibits scintillation, the property of luminescence, when excited by ionizing radiation. Luminescent materials, when struck by an incoming particle, absorb its energy and scintillate (i.e. re-emit the absorbed energy in the form of light). Sometimes, the excited state is metastable, so the relaxation back down from the excited state to lower states is delayed (necessitating anywhere from a few nanoseconds to hours depending on the material).
Gamma spectroscopy
Gamma-ray spectroscopy is the qualitative study of the energy spectra of gamma-ray sources, such as in the nuclear industry, geochemical investigation, and astrophysics. Gamma-ray spectrometry, on the other hand, is the method used to acquire a quantitative spectrum measurement. Most radioactive sources produce gamma rays, which are of various energies and intensities. When these emissions are detected and analyzed with a spectroscopy system, a gamma-ray energy spectrum can be produced.
Radiation protection
Radiation protection, also known as radiological protection, is defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as "The protection of people from harmful effects of exposure to ionizing radiation, and the means for achieving this". Exposure can be from a source of radiation external to the human body or due to internal irradiation caused by the ingestion of radioactive contamination. Ionizing radiation is widely used in industry and medicine, and can present a significant health hazard by causing microscopic damage to living tissue.
Show more
Related MOOCs (2)
Fundamentals of Biomedical Imaging: Ultrasounds, X-ray, positron emission tomography (PET) and applications
Learn how principles of basic science are integrated into major biomedical imaging modalities and the different techniques used, such as X-ray computed tomography (CT), ultrasounds and positron emissi
Fundamentals of Biomedical Imaging: Ultrasounds, X-ray, positron emission tomography (PET) and applications
Learn how principles of basic science are integrated into major biomedical imaging modalities and the different techniques used, such as X-ray computed tomography (CT), ultrasounds and positron emissi

Graph Chatbot

Chat with Graph Search

Ask any question about EPFL courses, lectures, exercises, research, news, etc. or try the example questions below.

DISCLAIMER: The Graph Chatbot is not programmed to provide explicit or categorical answers to your questions. Rather, it transforms your questions into API requests that are distributed across the various IT services officially administered by EPFL. Its purpose is solely to collect and recommend relevant references to content that you can explore to help you answer your questions.