From nuclear physics to applications: detectors for beam handling, medical diagnostics and radioactive waste monitoring

Abstract

Nuclear physics experiments are always in need of more and more advanced detection systems. During the last years relevant technological developments have come out with many improvements in terms of performance and compactness of detector materials, transducers, electronics, computing and data transmission. In light of these achievements some applications previously prohibitive, mainly because of size and cost, have become feasible. A few applications of nuclear detection techniques are discussed, starting from the neighboring field of particle beam diagnostics, moving to the medical diagnostics and ending up into the radioactive waste handling. New radiation sensors are shown and explained, as exploited in the DMNR project for the radioactive waste online monitoring which merged into the MICADO Euratom project.

Developments and experiences of the CHANCE, MICADO and PREDIS projects in radioactive waste characterization

“…Unlike the other projects, the main aim is long-term monitoring of waste packages (e.g., in intermediate storage facilities). There are two types of sensors, scintillating fibers for gamma detection (SciFi) [20] and a solidstate detector with lithium (SiLiF) for the detection of neutrons [21]. The sensors are coupled either directly to the package or the surrounding framework and provide continuous trends of neutron and gamma count rates to monitor the status of the stored package in real-time.…”