Gas Flow to Enhance the Detection of Alpha-Induced Air Radioluminescence Based on a UVTron Flame Sensor

Abstract

In many field applications where alpha-induced radioluminescence (or so-called UV fluorescence) could potentially be used for stand-off detection of alpha-emitting materials, it may not be possible to create a fully purged gas atmosphere. Hence, an alternative gas delivery method to utilise the radioluminescence enhancing properties of gases has been investigated, with the novel results from this presented herewithin. A solar blind ultraviolet C (UVC) sensor (UVTron R9533, Hamamatsu, Japan) has been used to detect changes in the signal in the UVC wavelength range (180–280 nm), where gases of Ar, Xe, Ne, N2, Kr, and P-10 were flowed over a 6.95 MBq 210Po source using a narrow diameter pipe close to the source. In comparison with an air atmosphere, there was an increase in signal in all instances, the greatest being the flow of Xe, which in one instance greater than doubled the average counts per second. This increase in signal could prove beneficial in the design of a stand-off alpha detector to detect the very small UVC radioluminescence signals from alpha-emitting materials found in nuclear decommissioning environments.

Keywords

• UVTron flame detector
• alpha detection
• alpha-induced air radioluminescence
• alpha imaging
• nuclear decontamination and decommissioning
• gas scintillation