Real-time measurements of radon activity with the Timepix-based RADONLITE and RADONPIX detectors

Caresana, M.; Garlati, L.; Murtas, F.; Романо, С.; Severino, Clizia Tecla; Silari, M.

doi:10.1088/1748-0221/9/11/p11023

Cited by 10 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 12 publications

(16 reference statements)

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“…The risk is linked to the radioactive emissions of the radon progeny, such as 218 Po, 214 Po, 210 Pb, and Bi isotopes that are electrically charged. Thanks to this ion state they can easily attach to dust and aerosol [2] and then be inhaled and deposited inside the lung. The alpha particles produced by the decay of these isotopes are thus responsible for the internal irradiation and have a biological impact; -1 -…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Timepix3 detector for measuring radon decay products

et al. 2022

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The present work is focused on the characterization of a Timepix3 (TPX3) based test system for the identification of particles produced by the complex decay chain of 222Rn. The detector used is composed of a pixelated Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) semiconductor (500 μm thick) bump-bonded on an ASIC TPX3 chip. Measurements were carried out at the NIXT Laboratory (ENEA Frascati) using radioactive sources and exploiting the presence of natural radon gas by collecting its decay products on the sensor surface. Estimation of the radon gas risk is one of the most important problems in radiation protection and has stimulated further development of new advanced methods suitable for detecting this gas in confined environments. A study of the spatial uniformity and high energy calibration is also presented and an improved cluster analysis is introduced. The performance highlighted in this study will allow a detailed and faster analysis of the radon products and may have an important impact on the environmental radioprotection applications. This paper describes the application and use of this test system to identify the different decay signatures and follow the temporal evolution of the Radon decay chain.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Timepix3 detector for measuring radon decay products

et al. 2022

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“…The airborne isotope of 222 Rn can produce several alpha and beta particles along its decay chain. Its presence inside the detector container is therefore monitored by a dedicated Rn detector based on the RADONLITE and RADONPIX technology [23], developed at CERN. Another source of intrinsic radioactivity are trace fractions of Bi isotopes contained in detector materials, in particular the neutron detection screens.…”

Section: Backgroundsmentioning

confidence: 99%

SoLid: A short baseline reactor neutrino experiment

Abreu,

Amhis,

Arnold

et al. 2020

Preprint

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The SoLid experiment, short for Search for Oscillations with a Lithium 6 detector, is a new generation neutrino experiment which addresses the key challenges for high precision reactor neutrino measurements at very short distances and with little or no overburden. The primary goal of the SoLid experiment is to search for very short distance neutrino oscillations as a probe of eV-scale sterile neutrinos. This paper describes the SoLid detection principle, the mechanical design and the construction of the detector. It then reports on the installation and commissioning on site near the BR2 reactor, Belgium, and nally highlights its performance in terms of detector response and calibration.

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“…In this work, a Timepix detector, originally designed to monitor the ionic radiation environment inside human space habitats, was used to perform radon real time-measurements. Devices of this family have been already used for this kind of measurement, as presented in the literature for the RADONLITE and RADONPIX detectors [20] and in the setup reported in [21], which employ α spectroscopy techniques to detect and identify Po-218 and Po-214 radon daughters. In the first approach, the positive ions of Po-218 and Po-214 were concentrated onto the TimePix active area using an electrostatic field generated inside a custom-made detector holder.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Novel Algorithm for Radon Real-Time Measurements with a Pixelated Detector

Rizzo

Cardellini

Poggi

et al. 2022

Sensors

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Nowadays, radon gas exposure is considered one of the main health concerns for the population because, by carrying about half the total dose due to environmental radioactivity, it is the second cause of lung cancer after smoking. Due to a relatively long half-life of 3.82 days, the chemical inertia and since its parent Ra-226 is largely diffuse on the earthrgb]0,0,1’s crust and especially in the building materials, radon can diffuse and potentially saturate human habitats, with a concentration that can suddenly change during the 24 h day depending on temperature, pressure, and relative humidity. For such reasons, `real-time’ measurements performed by an active detector, possibly of small dimensions and a handy configuration, can play an important role in evaluating the risk and taking the appropriate countermeasures to mitigate it. In this work, a novel algorithm for pattern recognition was developed to exploit the potentialities of silicon active detectors with a pixel matrix structure to measure radon through the α emission, in a simple measurement configuration, where the device is placed directly in air with no holder, no collection filter or electrostatic field to drift the radon progenies towards the detector active area. This particular measurement configuration (dubbed as bare) requires an α/β-discrimination method that is not based on spectroscopic analysis: as the gas surrounds the detector the α particles are emitted at different distances from it, so they lose variable energy amount in air depending on the traveled path-length which implies a variable deposited energy in the active area. The pixels matrix structure allows overcoming this issue because the interaction of α, β and γ particles generate in the active area of the detector clusters (group of pixels where a signal is read) of different shape and energy dispersion. The novel algorithm that exploits such a phenomenon was developed using a pixelated silicon detector of the TimePix family with a compact design. An α(Am-241) and a β(Sr-90) source were used to calibrate the algorithm and to evaluate its performances in terms of β rejection capability and α recognition efficiency. Successively, the detector was exposed to different radon concentrations at the ENEA-INMRI radon facility in `bare’ configuration, in order to check the linearity of the device response over a radon concentration range. The results for this technique are presented and discussed, highlighting the potential applications especially the possibility to exploit small and handy detectors to perform radon active measurements in the simplest configuration.

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Real-time measurements of radon activity with the Timepix-based RADONLITE and RADONPIX detectors

Cited by 10 publications

References 12 publications

Timepix3 detector for measuring radon decay products

Timepix3 detector for measuring radon decay products

SoLid: A short baseline reactor neutrino experiment

Novel Algorithm for Radon Real-Time Measurements with a Pixelated Detector

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