Documentos de Académico
Documentos de Profesional
Documentos de Cultura
Jean Barthe
*
Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique, D epartement d'Instrumentation et de M etrologie des Rayonnements Ionisants,
Centre de Saclay, 91191 Gif-Sur-Yvette, France
Received 2 January 2001; received in revised form 29 May 2001
Abstract
This paper attempts to give an idea on the state of the art in electronic solid state dosimetry, including devices mainly
based on semiconductors and diamond. Research in this area has made great progress. 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All
rights reserved.
1. Foreword
For dosimetry purposes, silicon devices are
used while germanium components are generally
not of interest because of their too high eective
atomic number compared with that of biological
tissue.
Both electronic dosimeters needing associated
electronics for real-time performing, and passive
dosimeters, the reading of which is performed
some delay after irradiation by using a specic
reader, are described. In a few cases, the two per-
forming processes are available for the same de-
tector. Four types of devices are detailed: diodes,
MOSFETs (metaloxide semiconductor eld eect
transistor), bipolar junction transistors (BJTs),
and solid ionisation chambers made of silicon di-
oxide or diamond. Direct ion-storage dosimeters
are described elsewhere in this issue.
A description of dierent applications, sorted
according to the deposited dose, is proposed:
photon and electron dosimetry at very low doses
for radiation protection, low doses for medical and
industrial imaging, intermediate doses for radia-
tion therapy and high doses for industrial purposes
such as sterilisation. A large part of this text is
dedicated to neutron personal dosimetry on which
many studies are in progress.
Much information on these dosimetry tech-
niques has been extracted from the following ref-
erence books: ``The Ionising Radiation: Detection,
Spectrometry and Dosimetry'' by Blanc [1], ``In-
troduction to Solid State Physics'' by Kittel [2],
``Fundamental of Radiation Dosimetry'' by
Greening [3], ``Dosimetry of Ionizing Radiation''
by Kase, Bjarngard and Attix [4], ``Radiation
Detection and Measurement'' by Knoll [5],
``Techniques for Nuclear and Particles Physics
Experiments'' by Leo [6] and ``Semiconductors
Detectors'' by Bertolini and Coche [7]. Publica-
tions on the state of the art in dosimetry were also
used extensively in [811].
Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B 184 (2001) 158189
www.elsevier.com/locate/nimb
*
Tel.: +33-1-6908-9730; fax: +33-1-6908-9529.
E-mail address: jean.barthe@cea.fr (J. Barthe).
0168-583X/01/$ - see front matter 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 1 6 8 - 5 8 3 X ( 0 1 ) 0 0 7 1 1 - X
2. Introduction
In the past, silicon and germanium detectors
have been mainly used for energy spectrometry,
and have replaced solid state scintillator detectors
in applications where the highest energy resolution
is required. In that case, they were generally used
rather as particle detectors than radiation dosi-
meters. The use of silicon diode detectors for the
dosimetry of high-energy photon and electron
beams, mainly in the eld of radiation therapy,
began by the mid-1960s. Germanium dosimeters
dropped out of interest, because of their eective
atomic number being too high, especially for
measurements at low energy. This eect is not re-
strictive for use in spectrometry, where the whole
energy of the incident particle is deposited in the
detector. This is not the case in the dosimetry of
photons or electrons and, a fortiori, for neutrons.
One of the most important interests for semi-
conductors' use in dosimetry is their extremely
high sensitivity relative to the ionisation volume,
compared to an air-lled ionisation chamber. A
factor of about 18 000 is generally found between
the response of a silicon semiconductor diode and
an ionisation chamber of the same volume. This
allows one to reduce the sensitive volume to a few
tenths of a cubic millimetre. Despite their over-
response for low-energy photons, silicon semi-
conductor detectors present characteristics that
make them very attractive for measuring either
dose or dose rate, relative to gas-ion chambers.
3. Generalities
3.1. A few dates
The following table gives a few dates on the
progresses made in electronics and dosimetric
since the last century.
These dates are more or less mean dates corre-
sponding to either the rst studies or their eective
use.
3.2. Types of dosimeters
The semiconductor devices presently used for
radiation dosimetry may be sorted into two types:
silicon diodes and transistors (mainly MOSFETs).
In addition, solid state ionisation chambers made
with silicon dioxide or diamond can be considered
as semiconductor devices. Let us note that more
than 10 years ago, doped organic component-
based diodes were also designed and studied.
Following the type of dosimetry, semiconduc-
tor devices can be used either as (1) electronic or
real time dose rate-meters or (2) as solid state
dosimeters.
In the rst case (1), the semiconductor device
needs a bias voltage during operation. The in-
volved dosimetric quantity corresponds to dose
rate and is correlated with the produced electric
current. Dose is obtained by integration.
In the second case (2), the semiconductor device
does not need any bias voltage. The dosimetric
quantity corresponds to the absorbed dose and is
correlated with the modication of a given physi-
cal parameter such as electric conductivity for the
1883 Thomas Edison noted that a heated
metal emits electrons.
1904 Sir John Ambrose Fleming made the
rst valve diode.
1920s Solid-state diodes, rectier or ``cat
whisker'' crystals, are used in crystal
radios.
1948 Development of modern semiconductor
diodes and transistors.
1952 Commercial use of semiconductor
devices in electronics.
1959 Semiconductor detectors used in
nuclear physics.
1970s Ionisation chamber based on silicon
dioxide studied for radiation dosimetry.
1970s Semiconductor dosimeters used in
medical physics.
1981 Passive neutron dosimetry with PIN
diodes.
1986 First studies of a neutron dosimeter
based on silicon diodes.
1989 MOSFET used as a radiation
dosimeter.
1990s Ionisation chamber based on natural
diamond.
1995 Direct ion storage dosimeter.
J. Barthe / Nucl. Instr. and Meth. in Phys. Res. B 184 (2001) 158189 159
diode or threshold voltage for the MOSFET.
Mean dose-rate can be obtained by means of se-
quential dose measurements.
For these two types of dosimeter the solid state
eects which occur often coexist. This means that a
progressive decrease of sensitivity occurs during
the increase of absorbed dose. In general, the re-
sult is a saturation eect.
3.3. Classication of dosimeters
The classication of dosimeters can be done
following dierent criteria such as the nature of
involved physical phenomena, characteristics of
the measured elds, or the types of applications.
For clarity of the text, except for neutron dosi-
meters, classication following the nature of
physical phenomena is used.
3.3.1. Active (or electronic) rate meters and dosi-
meters (bias voltage)
Diode (X and c photons, electrons).
Ionisation chambers based on silicon (PIN), sil-
icon dioxide and diamond.
Silicon drift chamber (particle position), silicon
time projection chamber (energy loss and posi-
tion).
Binary and logical memories covered with an
added specic sensitive layer (hydrogenated
cathode for detection of fast neutrons).
MOSFET (X and c photons).
3.3.2. Passive (or solid state) dosimeters (no bias
voltage)
Diode (neutrons).
MOSFET (X and c photons).
Linear conductive organic polymers (very high
photon doses).
3.3.3. Ambivalent dosimeters
MOSFET (X and c photons).
Diode (fast neutrons).
3.3.4. Measurement method
Pulse counting for low dose-rate: photons and
electrons in radiation protection.
Pulse counting and energy and/or time discrim-
ination: mixed elds in radiation protection.
DC current measurement: high dose rate of
photons and electrons.
Measurement of electrical characteristics of
passive dosimeters (photons, electrons and neu-
trons): change in electrical resistance, drift in
threshold voltage, change in capacitance, etc.
3.4. Dosimetry domains
It is interesting to look at the dierent dosi-
metry application domains where radiation is
generally involved. They can be classied into ve
themes for which human health is generally the
main objective.
3.4.1. Radiation protection (external dosimetry)
Poor knowledge of the type and energy of the
radiation (X or c photons, electrons and neu-
trons).
Mainly low or extremely low dose-rate (natural
background dose rate to a few mSv h
1
).
High low dose-rate in accident cases.
Very wide spectra and range for neutrons in nu-
clear industry: 2:5 10
2
(thermal) 15 MeV
(fusion).
3.4.2. External radiation therapy
Good knowledge of radiation nature and beam
quality.
Dose rate: a few gray per minute. Total inte-
grated dose: <60 Gy.
Contact therapy: X-rays: 50 kV 300 kV.
Cobalt therapy: c rays ~1.25 MeV.
X-ray therapy: X-rays from 4 MV 25 MV
(Bremsstrahlung spectrum).
Electron therapy: electrons: 6 MeV 20 MeV.
Neutron therapy: neutrons: 20 MeV 60 MeV
(neutron therapy).
Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT): ther-
mal and epithermal neutrons: 25 meV a
few keV.
Proton therapy: protons: 30 200 MeV (mean
60 MeV).
3.4.3. Radio-diagnostic (2D and 3D imaging): low
doses (a few mGy)
Mammography/scintigraphy/scanner: X-rays
from a few tens to a few hundred of keV.
160 J. Barthe / Nucl. Instr. and Meth. in Phys. Res. B 184 (2001) 158189
PET camera: positonnegaton annihilation 512
keV.
3.4.4. Radiobiology
All types of radiation, doses from a few mGy to
a few tens of Gy.
3.4.5. Industrial applications
Nuclear gauges based on the transmission and/
or backscattering of photons, electrons and
neutrons.
Gamma radiography (radioactive sources and
accelerators): industry, cultural heritage (objet
d'art).
Radioactive tracers, industry and environment:
photons: 50 keV a few MeV (short period).
Sterilisation: high dose (2 10 kGy), photons
(c, X) and electrons, duration of a few tens of
seconds, dose rate ~1 MGy h
1
.
Chemical reticulation: a few tens of kGy with
high dose rate (photons and electrons).
3.5. Reminders on semiconductor characteristics
3.5.1. Intrinsic and extrinsic semiconductors
In an intrinsic semiconductor, i.e., a semicon-
ductor free of impurities, electron and hole densi-
ties are equal and the intrinsic conductivity is low
(k = 10
9
X
1
cm
1
). The excitation of carriers is
controlled by temperature in accordance with the
Bolzmann distribution. In that case the Fermi le-
vel, which separates electron from hole energy, is
located at the middle of the gap. In comparison,
metals exhibit a high conductivity from 10
3
to
10
9
X
1
cm
1
and insulators a low conductivity
from 10
22
to 10
12
X
1
cm
1
[6].
The width of the gap and bands is determined
by the lattice spacing between the atoms. These
parameters are thus strongly dependent on the
temperature and weakly on the pressure. In con-
ductors, the energy gap does not exist (band
overlapping), while in insulators the gap is large
(Fig. 1). At normal temperatures in an insulator,
the electrons are all in the valence band, thermal
energy being insucient to excite electrons across
the gap. Therefore when an external electric eld is
applied, there is no motion of electrons through
the crystal and thus no current. On the other hand,
in a conductor the absence of a gap makes it very
easy for thermally excited electrons to jump into
the conduction band where they are free to move
inside the crystal. A current will then ow if an
electric eld is applied.
In a semiconductor, the forbidden band is re-
duced in such a way that only a few electrons are
excited by thermal energy up to the conduction
band. If an electric eld is applied then a small
current is observed. If the semiconductor is cooled,
almost all the electrons will fall into the valence
band and the conductivity of the semiconductor
will decrease.
An extrinsic semiconductor (k = 10
9
10
2
X
1
cm
1
) of n-type is obtained by adding an
element of valence 5, such as phosphorus, arsenic
or antimony, which are called ``donors''. An ex-
trinsic semiconductor of p-type is obtained by
adding an element of valence 3 such as boron,
aluminium, gallium and indium and are called
``acceptors''. In comparison with the lattice dis-
tances, the rst Bohr orbit of a n-type impurity is
about 8 nm for germanium and 3 nm for silicon
Fig. 1. Dierent types of band structures [2, p. 174]. At 0 K a semi-metal (Bismuth temperature with thermal exited carriers), semi-
conductor [2] presents a lack of electrons due to impurities.
J. Barthe / Nucl. Instr. and Meth. in Phys. Res. B 184 (2001) 158189 161
allowing an overlap at low carrier density. The
corresponding ionisation energies can be extremely
low and below the ambient energy (25 meV),
specially for germanium.
Carriers are free electric charges and are able to
move in the crystal according to the direction of
the applied electric eld. There are two types of
carriers, electrons and holes. They can be minor or
major carriers following the type of semiconduc-
tor. Major carriers are electrons with donors and
holes with acceptors. Minor carriers are electrons
with acceptors and holes with donors [6].
3.5.2. Main basic properties of intrinsic silicon and
germanium
Table 1 gives the main characteristics of silicon
and germanium. For dosimetric purposes it has to
be noticed that the very low energy needs to create
an electronhole pair, approximately 10 times
lower than in air. The respective mobility of elec-
trons and holes plays an important role in the
pulse shape rise time analysis frequently used for
neutronphoton discrimination in mixed elds.
4. Diode dosimeters
4.1. Basic principle
A silicon diode consists of a junction of two
types of semiconductors. For a p-type diode, the
bulk of the crystal consists in a p-type region
(excess of holes) while a thin layer at the surface is
an n-type region (excess of electrons). Electrical
Table 1
Main basic properties of intrinsic silicon and germanium
Physical characteristics
(300 K if no temperature is specied)
Nature of material
Silicon Germanium
Atomic number 14 32
Atomic weight 28.09 72.60
Density (g cm
2
) 2.33 5.33
Lattice constant (cm) 5:429 10
8
5:657 10
8
Dielectric constant (DC) 12 16
Forbidden energy gap (eV) 1.115 0.665
Intrinsic carriers density (cm
3
) 1:5 10
10
2:4 10
13
Intrinsic resistivity (X cm) 2:3 10
5
47
Electron mobility (cm
2
V
1
s
1
) 1350 3900
Hole mobility (cm
2
V
1
s
1
) 480 1900
Electron mobility (77 K) (cm
2
V
1
s
1
) 2:1 10
4
3:6 10
4
Hole mobility (77 K) (cm
2
V
1
s
1
) 1:1 10
4
4:2 10
4
Electron diusion constant (cm
2
s
1
) 38 90
Hole diusion constant (cm
2
s
1
) 13 45
Work function (eV) 5.0 4.8
Energy per holeelectron pair creation (eV) 3.62
Energy per holeelectron pair (77 K) (eV) 3.76 2.97
Nature of material Physical characteristics
W
gap
(eV) Electron mobility (cm
2
V
1
s
1
) Hole mobility (cm
2
V
1
s
1
)
InSb 0.18 800 450
PbS 0.36 550 600
GaAs 1.43 8500 400
CdTe 1.47 78000 50
Diamond 5.4 1800 1200
Gap and electron mobility are also given for some other semiconductor materials including diamond [2] and [57].
162 J. Barthe / Nucl. Instr. and Meth. in Phys. Res. B 184 (2001) 158189
conduction in each region occurs through motion
of its majority charge carriers (holes or electrons).
The electrical contacts, anode (p-type region) and
cathode (n-type region), are obtained by vacuum
deposition of a thin metal layer (generally alu-
minium or gold). The dierence in charge density
between the two regions tends to diuse charge
carriers in the opposite charge region creating in
between an internal electric eld (or potential
barrier) which originates the depleted layer. At
ambient temperature, a low current (a few tens of
pA) due to thermal agitation, called leakage cur-
rent, ows through the potential barrier.
When a positive voltage (from 10 to a few
hundreds of volts) is applied between cathode and
anode, electrons are pulled out of the depleted
layer and the current cannot then ow across the
junction, except for a small leakage current. The
junction is in reverse-biased condition. The thick-
ness of the depletion layer increases with the ap-
plied voltage and may reach a few mm. When a
negative voltage (a few volts) is applied in the same
disposition, the potential barrier disappears and
the current ows freely through the junction.
These two performing situations correspond to the
``diode'' eect well-known in electronic circuits.
If an ionising particle passes through the de-
pleted layer while the junction is reverse-biased,
electronhole pairs are formed by the usual colli-
sion processes. The mean energy spent per elec-
tronhole pair creation is 3.62 eV at 300 K for
silicon and 2.97 eV at 77 K for germanium. These
values are only about one-tenth of the analogous
W-values for gas ionisation chambers; approxi-
mately 10 times more ionisation is formed in
semiconductor detectors than in ion chambers for
the same energy expenditures. This contributes to
the good energy resolution of silicon and germa-
nium detectors.
Electrons can reach the boundary of the de-
pleted layer in 10
7
10
8
s producing a compara-
ble voltage-pulse rise time. In the case of a low
dose-rate, for example in radiation protection
where the dose-rate magnitude is a few micrograys
per hour, a linear charge-sensitive preamplier
with a suitable short time constant can be used in
charge measurement or in pulse-height analysis
mode. In the case of high dose-rates, for example
in radiation therapy purposes where the dose-rate
corresponds to a few grays per minute, a direct
current preamplier, linear amplier and elec-
tronic digital converter are generally used. In that
way only dose or dose-rate can be measured and
no indication on the radiation energy can be ob-
tained.
If the dose-rate is high, silicon diodes may be
used without bias voltage. In that case the depleted
zone is reduced to the minimum thickness (a tenth
of micrometer). In the same way, sensitivity,
mainly controlled by the depleted zone volume,
lowers. This is perfect for operating in high dose-
rate radiation elds occurring in radiation therapy.
A typical sensitivity of about 2:10
9
A Gy
1
min
1
is currently found.
4.2. Radiation detection principle
When an ionising particle, electron, proton,
alpha, or non-directly ionising particle (photon or
neutron) passes through the diode (Fig. 2), a
number of electronhole pairs is created.
For spectrometric purposes, the dead layer
(metallic electrode and contact silicon layer) will
be as thin as possible, often between 50 and 170
nm. The dead layer corresponds to both the N (or
P) doped semiconductor layer and the metallic
contact. The depletion layer depends on the ap-
plied electric eld, from a few lm to a few cm
according to the use and the crystal size. Under
reverse bias voltage, the electric current is gener-
Fig. 2. Radiation detection principle.
J. Barthe / Nucl. Instr. and Meth. in Phys. Res. B 184 (2001) 158189 163
ated by the radiation-induced charges. Mobility
and velocity control the curve shape and recom-
bination. Generally a higher doping corresponds
to a lower sensitivity and a higher power con-
sumption.
4.3. Types of diodes
Dierent types of diodes have been designed
and produced for each specic application. In ra-
diation detection, the rst use was for nuclear
particle spectrometry. At the beginning, surface
barrier diodes were performed. But their inaccu-
rate and dicult manufacturing led to the prefer-
ential use of diused diodes and sometimes
implanted diodes.
4.3.1. Spectrometric and pulsed X-ray diodes
Spectrometric diodes present a deeply depleted
zone in which the incident particle is fully stopped.
The intrinsic carrier mobility has to be high to
avoid any recombination and to increase the de-
tection rate. Cylindrical symmetry is usual for high
energy particle measurements, but square or rect-
angular diodes are often used for optical photon
detection [1,4]. Metallic surroundings do not play
a signicant role. The diameter of such diodes is
between 1 mm and a few cm, the depleted depth
between a few lm and a few tens of cm. For ex-
ample, the size of a big coaxial p-type Ge diode
detector, produced in 1992, was 109.3 mm of
length and 88.8 mm of diameter. Larger diode
detectors are used for space radiation measure-
ment on satellites [6].
For spectrometry purposes of high energy
particles, the nature of entrance window plays an
important role. It can be made of silicon, alu-
minium or gold according to the nature of incident
particles. The applied voltage may vary from a few
tens to a few hundreds (or thousands) volts. For
small diodes, the collection time is close to a few
nanoseconds. Fig. 3 shows some conventional
spectrometric diodes.
As an example [12], diodes used in alpha
spectrometry present six factors leading to a
widening of the spectral resolution R (FWHM).
By assuming a quadratic eect, it can be writ-
ten
DR
2
= DS
2
DI
2
DC
2
DP
2
DF
2
DE
2
;
Fig. 3. Spectrometric diodes used in pulse X-ray detection.
164 J. Barthe / Nucl. Instr. and Meth. in Phys. Res. B 184 (2001) 158189
where
4.3.2. Dosimetric diodes
A perfect dosimeter has to be appropriate to the
medium in which it is intended to measure the
dose; this means that it has not modied the u-
ence of incident particles and the energy spectrum
of incident and secondary charged particles. Be-
sides, the produced signal has to be proportional
to the deposited dose; no saturation eect has to
occur.
Diodes used for dosimetry are slightly dierent
to those used for spectrometry. In order to mini-
mise the medium perturbation, the dosimeter has
to be as small as possible to satisfy the Bragg
Gray theory. In many cases the diode size is less
than 1 1 1 mm
3
. A compromise between size
and sensitivity has to be done, the resulting signal
being always proportional to the sensitive volume.
As said before, surrounding materials play a sig-
nicant role by generating secondary charged
particles. The electric contacts are generally made
of aluminium (low atomic number), while the case
and supports are made of plastic materials and are
close to being tissue equivalent. Two examples are
proposed in the following gures. Fig. 4 shows the
Gager's historic diode dosimeter (1977); the me-
tallic surrounding materials are of a high atomic
number, such as copper. In comparison, a more
recent diode dosimeter is shown in Fig. 5, com-
ponents of which are made of low atomic number
materials.
4.4. Diode used for gamma and beta radiation
protection
As said in the previous paragraphs, a diode can
be used according to two modes: the pulse mode
and the direct current mode. The pulse mode as-
sociated with an amplitude discriminator allows a
good rejection of background noise signal. In di-
rect current mode, electrons from background
noise or useful signal are indiscernible and no
discrimination can be done. Except for very high
intensity pulses and/or very high frequencies, the
mean power of background noise is generally
higher than that of pulses. The particle rate being
low in radiation protection, the pulse mode is
generally used. For that a linear relationship has to
exist between dose-rate and counting rate. In that
case, pulse intensity does not play any role. This
means that the energy response of incident parti-
DS line widening with source
depth
1.0 keV
DI statistical uctuations of
the ionisation in the
semiconductor
4.1 keV
DC uctuations due to nucleus
particle collisions
5.0 keV
DP plasma eect, trapping and
recombination
1.0 keV
DF straggling eect due to the
entrance window
3.0 keV
DE diode electronic and
amplier noise
1.0 keV
DR global resolution (FWHM) 7.4 keV
Fig. 4. Historic diode proposed by Wright and Gager in 1977.
Notice the dierent surrounding materials.
Fig. 5. Thimble-type mount of a silicon diodefrom Aoki and
described by [15]: (a) polyethylene; (b) carbon paint; (c) silicon
diode; (d) carbon epoxy; (e) aluminium wires; (f) PMMA.
J. Barthe / Nucl. Instr. and Meth. in Phys. Res. B 184 (2001) 158189 165
cles has to be corrected by other physical means
such as the use of lters or absorbers. This method
is always used for individual neutron dosimeters in
order to discriminate neutrons from photons.
Due to the low particle rate encountered in
radiation protection purposes, the detector is
generally a square diode of 5 5 mm
2
. For lower
counting rate, the surface can be increased up to a
few square cm. It has to be noticed that the whole
capacitance of the diode is increasing with the ef-
fective surface leading to a drastic increase of the
background noise associated with a decrease in the
counting rate. In that way, and for specic uses,
the global detector is divided into a set of small
elementary diodes. A specic charge amplier is
coupled with each elementary diode. The use of
such a technique will be described later for per-
sonal neutron dosimetry.
4.4.1. Electric diagram
As seen before, the diode used in pulse mode is
biased in a reverse voltage (a few tens to a few
hundreds of volts according to its type). A stronger
voltage leads to a larger depleted zone. The reverse
current remains practically insignicant below a
fraction of the disruptive threshold voltage.
The pulse signal polarity is a function of the p-
type or n-type of the diode and its respective bias
voltage (Fig. 6).
4.4.2. Energy response
In the ISO standard, the photons generated by
137
Cs or
60
Co sources are stated as reference pho-
ton energies for the response of a personal dosi-
meter. The corresponding requirements allow a
maximum of uncertainty of 15%. The main dif-
culty complying with this requirement concerns
the low energies where the photoelectric eect is
predominant, leading to a strong over-response.
As said before, one solution consists of covering
the detector with adapted shields.
Fig. 7 shows the energy response of MGPi
electronic individual dosimeters [13].
4.4.3. Dose-rate response
Based on pulse counting, the response is per-
fectly linear with the dose rate until saturation
eects occur due, for example, to pulse stacking or
to a shift of the detection spectrum magnitude to
low values. The detection threshold does not cor-
respond to the same energy and the integrated
count number is modied. Fig. 8 shows the mea-
surements made at the IPSN (Institute for Pro-
tection and Nuclear Safety) to determine the
response linearity with the dose rate for the
Dosicard personal dosimeter [14].
4.4.4. Isotropy
Isotropy is an important feature for the use of a
personal dosimeter. It depends on the way the
dosimeter is worn on the body. In general, this
type of dosimeter is worn on the trunk. Standard
tests are performed on the ISO or ICRU phan-
toms, spheres or slabs. The Hp(10) dose equivalent
is dened under 1 cm tissue thickness. In that case,
the radiation uence is lower for tangential than
for normal incident angles leading to a higher re-
sponse under normal incidence. Fig. 9 shows the
response of a commercial personal dosimeter at
low energy photons which is a dicult case.
4.5. Diode used in radiotherapy
As seen before, diodes used for dosimetry in
radiation therapy are of small size (0:5 mm
2
)
and work in the current mode [16]. The uence
rate of photons or electrons is generally high and
corresponds to a mean dose-rate of 2.5 Gy min
1
.
N
I
P
Rc
V
Signal
.
As can be seen in this gure the source and
drain regions are identical. The applied voltages
determine the p-type region from where electrons
are derived and becomes the source, while the
other p-type region collects the electrons and be-
comes the drain. The voltages applied to the drain
and gate electrodes, as well as to the substrate by
means of a back contact, are determined from the
source potential, as indicated in Fig. 33 [47].
As an example, for a type-n MOS the drain-
source current decreases when the negative voltage
applied to the source and gate increases in absolute
value. Such a correlation is called the I
DS
(V
GS
)
characteristic. The drift of V
GS
, termed D
T
(V ), is
called threshold voltage. Fig. 33 shows the re-
spective drifts of threshold voltage for MOSFETs,
p-type on the left and n-type on the right. This
characteristic shifts down to negative values of V
GS
Fig. 33. I
SD
characteristics under normal conditions [47].
Fig. 32. Schematic diagram of the MOSFET principle [47].
J. Barthe / Nucl. Instr. and Meth. in Phys. Res. B 184 (2001) 158189 179
when the absorbed dose increases. Fig. 34 shows
the eect on threshold voltage versus the dose for
both n- and p-types of MOSFETs. It can be seen
that the behaviours of n-type and p-type are dif-
ferent. A one-to-one relation between threshold
voltage and dose exists for p-type, but not for n-
type where a same threshold voltage can corre-
spond to two dierent doses.
There have been many studies on MOS dosi-
meters, including technical [4852], low doses
[53,54], spatial and medical dosimetry mainly in
the eld of imaging [55,56], radiotherapy [57,58],
and very high doses [59].
The radiation sensitivity increases with the ap-
plied electric eld. The sensitivities can be modied
and precisely adjusted to a given value for a batch
with an appropriate electric biasing, as shown in
Fig. 35.
The relationship between dose and D
T
(V ) is
linear for low doses and approaches saturation for
high doses (a few kGy). The zone of linear slope
determines the radiation sensitivity of the device.
For a p-type MOSFET, the relationship between
threshold voltage and dose is linear from a few
mGy up to 1 kGy (see Fig. 36).
Sharp and Pater [63] report the use of MOS-
FETs up to 30 kGy. The sensitivity of the MOS
device was found to change with the gate geome-
try, with a shorter gate length showing a greater
response. Following the range of dose, correction
can be made by the reading system in order to
obtain an overall linear response. In the same way,
accuracy decreases when the dose increases.
Studies have also been made on the use of
hydrogenated materials (paran) for sensitising
p-MOS dosimeters to neutrons [64]. The hydro-
genated converter gives a result, per unit of sur-
face, close to that of diodes.
A MOSFET can be used simultaneously as a
passive or an active dosimeter, according to the
external electric circuit used. Nevertheless, an ini-
tial reference has to be performed prior to use. The
shift from the initial value gives, at any time, the Fig. 34. Threshold voltage (DV ) for (a) n-type, (b) p-type [60].
Fig. 35. Threshold voltage (DV ) versus dose for dierent gate
voltages [61].
Fig. 36. Threshold voltage (DV ) versus dose without bias [62].
180 J. Barthe / Nucl. Instr. and Meth. in Phys. Res. B 184 (2001) 158189
threshold voltage and so the integrated dose ob-
served between two successive measurements. If
the integration time step is suciently short in
accordance with the time variation of the dose
rate, the dose rate can be determined step by step.
All MOSFETs are sensitive to temperature and
present a zero temperature characteristic for a
specic value of V
GS
generally close to 3 V (known
as the ZTC point).
6.2. Stacked RADFET
Generally speaking, a RADFET is the name
given to a thick oxide p-type MOSFET intended
to be used as a radiation dosimeter. In order to
increase both sensitivity and dose range, 412 p-
MOSFETs may be stacked. As for MOSFET
dosimeters, the radiation-induced charges modify
the V
T
value of the device and the sum of the V
T
changes is proportional to the total amount of
absorbed radiation dose. The V
T
reading is per-
formed by the reading circuit or reader (here de-
signed for 4 p-FETs) schematically described in
Fig. 37. Processing improvements of RADFET
devices have enabled radiation sensitivity values
higher than 0.7 V Gy
1
to be obtained. New de-
signs have shown radiation sensitivities close to 8.5
V Gy
1
. For radiation protection in medical, nu-
clear facilities and other applications, where mea-
sured doses are lower than lGy, a radiation
sensitivity of the order of 10 V Gy
1
is required. In
these conditions, the background noise has to be
lower than 10 lV.
The issue of high reading voltage has been
shown to be a draw-back. The body bulk eect is
responsible for an increase of the overall stack
threshold voltage (V
T
), which is greater than the
sum of the individual V
T
[65]. From new manu-
facturing processes and the simulation of their
associated circuits, modied stack structures have
been proposed and tested.
Fig. 38 gives an idea of the dosimeter structure
while Fig. 39 shows the cut-away structure of
such a dosimeter. The aluminised Mylar facing
outside is used both to electrically ground it and
to protect wire bonds from mechanical damage
during assembly. This chip consists of eight
devices which are measured with an operational
amplier sequentially switched onto each de-
vice.
The dose response of a stacked RADFET is
shown in Fig. 40.
Fig. 37. Measurement circuit for a dosimeter consisting of four stacked RADFET [65].
Fig. 38. Prole of a multi-element dosimeter [66].
J. Barthe / Nucl. Instr. and Meth. in Phys. Res. B 184 (2001) 158189 181
6.3. Bipolar transistor
6.3.1. Structure of a bipolar junction transistor
A bipolar junction transistor (BJT) consists of a
three-layer structure with alternating n-type and p-
type regions as shown in Fig. 41. The three regions
are referred to as the emitter, the base and the
collector regions and are connected via an ohmic
contact.
A rst examination of the structure reveals that
it contains two pn diodes, one between the base
and the emitter, and one between the base and the
collector. However, the thin base region between
the two pn diodes enables the transport of mi-
nority carriers through this region. It is the
transport of minority carriers injected from the
emitter into the base which results in a collector
current. The collector current is almost indepen-
dent of the voltage applied between the base and
the collector, VBC, as long as the base-collector
diode is reversed biased. This causes the base-col-
lector diode to act as a current source whose value
is controlled by the base-emitter voltage, VBE.
The physical widths of the emitter, base and
collector are indicated on the gure with the as-
sociated symbols, W
E
, W
B
and W
C
. Two pn diodes
exist in the three-layer structure, namely the base-
emitter diode and the base-collector diode. The
two diodes are biased by the respective voltage
sources. The sign convention indicated on the g-
ure is such that the diodes are forward biased when
a positive voltage is applied. The collector and
base currents are considered to be positive when
current ows into the terminals while the emitter
current is considered to be positive if the current
ows out of the emitter terminal.
The ``quasi-neutral'' regions are neutral only at
thermal equilibrium. However, when voltages are
applied one nds that the charge densities and the
electric eld in these regions are signicantly
smaller than in the depletion regions.
6.3.2. Principle of radiation eects
The irradiation eects on the BJT can be sum-
marised as follows:
1. Production of a transient electric current across
the pn junction during irradiation due to diu-
sion of electronhole pairs in the electric eld of
the depletion layer of the semiconductor.
Fig. 39. Cut-away view of the dosimeter showing the Al-Mylar
lid used for the chip and electrical wire bonds [66].
Fig. 40. Voltage changes due to a 1 lCi
241
Am (37 MBq) source
(60 keV photons) located at four distances from the Al-Mylar
side: h
1
0, h
2
0:5, h
3
1:0 and h
4
1:5 inch [66].
Fig. 41. Structure of a bipolar junction transistor (BJT).
182 J. Barthe / Nucl. Instr. and Meth. in Phys. Res. B 184 (2001) 158189
2. Permanent damage to the silicon crystal struc-
ture with the formation of point defects, which
create generation recombination centres that
aect the charge carrier lifetime and all the re-
lated electrical parameters [67].
In the case of a bipolar transistor, there is a linear
relation between the lifetime inverse of charge
carriers and the dose expressed by the following
equation:
1
s
1
=
1
s
0
kD; (1)
where s
1
is the post-irradiation life-time, s
0
is the
pre-irradiation lifetime, D is the dose and k is the
radiation damage coecient (in general, k depends
on substrate and irradiation conditions).
The lifetime measurement is obtained with the
mean of a physical parameter T related to the
charge carrier life-time and dened by the equa-
tion
T = s ln
Q
S
s I
B
; (2)
where s is the charge carrier lifetime, Q
S
is the
stored charge, and I
B
is the turn-on base current.
The practical measurement consists in using the
circuit shown in Fig. 42. saturation of the col-
lectorbase junction with I
B1
current, clamping
of the junction by the use of a reverse voltage V
BB
through resistor R
BB
. The integration of I
B
with
time is proportional to Q
S
. The Q
S
collector tran-
sient charge is a function of the power supply
voltage through the load resistor R
C
. If all the
performing parameters are properly selected from
the right conditions V
BB
, R
BB
, R
C
, V
CC
and I
B1
, T
can be considered as a linear function of the carrier
lifetime.
Fig. 43 shows the evolution of D(1=T) = 1=
T
1
1=T
0
versus the deposited dose for photons of
four dierent energies. The D(1=T) behaviour is
approximately linear up to 1 kGy and shows a
saturation eect for higher doses. This eect is
increased at lower energies. It is considered that
this dosimetry technique is not very sensitive and is
more appropriate for radiation processing in
which doses are nearby a few kGy.
7. Diamond dosimeter
A world-wide research is presently made on
diamond detectors. Two main types of industrial
diamond are available on the market: DLC dia-
mond (diamond-like carbon) [69] in thin lms, and
CVD diamond (chemical vapour deposition) [70].
DLC, because of the large hydrogen concentration
up to 40 at% H
2
, would be able to detect inter-
mediate and fast neutrons. It would be to present a
better response to photons because of a density
lower than CVD or natural diamond (2.5 instead
of 3.52). However, some physical features present
strong disadvantages: thickness limit of 3 lm, low
gap between 1 and 3 eV, low electrical resistivity
for high H
2
concentration and low dielectric
strength (100 times lower than for CVD diamond).
The idea consisting in the use of a diamond
detector as an ionisation chamber was proposed
Fig. 42. Resistive load switching test circuit for measuring the T
parameter [67].
Fig. 43. Response of D(1=T) versus irradiation dose [67].
J. Barthe / Nucl. Instr. and Meth. in Phys. Res. B 184 (2001) 158189 183
probably for the rst time [71] at the beginning of
the 1980s.
The commercial dosimeter consists of a thin
diamond plate sandwiched between two alumin-
ium deposited electrodes. Fig. 44 shows a front
diamond dosimeter developed for external radio-
therapy. Surrounding materials are tissue equiva-
lent for photons (made of PMMA and
polystyrene). Electronic equilibrium with incident
radiation is obtained with a PMMA entrance
window and a thick plastic back-support. Electric
wires are moved back away from the detector.
7.1. IV characteristics
Fig. 45 shows IV characteristics of the CVD
diamond under X-ray irradiation. It can be seen
that such characteristics present a saturation shape
at high electrical elds. As with silicon dioxide or
liquid dielectric ionisation chambers, diamond IV
characteristics do not show any plateau. The upper
curve corresponds to a detector (1) of 480 lm thick
and the lower curve to a detector (2) of 6 lm
thickness. The corresponding electrical eld is gi-
ven in Fig. 45, 2.1 kV/cm for detector (1) and 167
kV/cm for detector (2). The net current is lower for
the 6 lm layer diamond; this corresponds to a
lower energy deposited in a lower sensitive volume.
It can be seen on the same gure; the measured
currents are not in the ratio of the thickness. The
best eciency (65 times higher) is obtained for the
highest applied electrical eld.
The type of diamond (i.e., natural, CVD or
DLC) plays a signicant role on the sensitivity to
radiation and on the stabilisation time. Fig. 46
gives the relative sensitivity for three detectors of
dierent sensitive volumes. As stated before, the
relative sensitivity is directly correlated to the
sensitive volume.
7.2. Dose and dose-rate response
Two important dosimetric aspects of the dia-
mond are the response with dose and/or dose-rate,
and the equivalence to biological tissue or water.
It was found that the dose-rate response of the
CVD diamond under irradiation is a function of
Fig. 44. Schematic view of a diamond dosimeter [72]. Diamond
is in black, dimensions are noticed in mm.
Fig. 45. IV characteristics under X-ray irradiation of CVD
diamond [73].
Fig. 46. Relative sensitivity of three types of diamond versus the
applied electric eld. Relative sensitivity corresponds to the
ratio of the response with sensitive volume [73].
184 J. Barthe / Nucl. Instr. and Meth. in Phys. Res. B 184 (2001) 158189
the integrated dose. The behaviour of its response
with irradiation is described in Fig. 47. Experi-
ments were performed in six dose steps of 8 Gy
each. The dose rate was of approximately 0.9 Gy
min
1
. The measurements show a saturation of the
current at about 13 pA after a reading of 9 min. It
can be seen in a progressive increase of the current,
38% for the rst step, 22% for the second and 17%
for the last step.
The stabilisation eect with dose is well known
for many dierent kinds of dosimeters. It is often
called ``pre-sensitisation''. As seen in Fig. 47,
above a specic dose value, the sensitivity (i.e.
intensity of current versus dose-rate) becomes
dose independent. This leads to irradiation of
the dosimeter before the rst use. Such a
pre-sensitisation is performed for ionisation
chambers, proportional counters and diodes used
in radiotherapy. In that case, the irradiation sta-
bilises the insulating materials included in the
dosimeter or the sensitive element of the dosime-
ter.
The response of a diamond dosimeter versus
dose-rate is shown in Fig. 48. More recent exper-
iments show a slight evolution of the dierential
response with dose-rate (Fig. 49) at low dose-rate.
The sensitivity to radiation of a diamond dosi-
meter is low. This means that such a dosimeter is
only usable for radiotherapy and not for radiation
protection.
7.3. Equivalence to water
Another feature of the diamond is its close
equivalence to biological tissue and water. The
curves in Fig. 50 show the stopping power ratios of
silicon, carbon and air relative to water. It can be
seen that carbon is relatively constant with energy
within a few percents around 1.13 [74].
7.4. Energy response
Figs. 51 and 52 give a good idea of the interest
of diamond relatively to silicon diodes. One can
observe an infra-sensitivity for diamond and a
Fig. 49. Response as a function of dose. k represents the order
of linearity. For linearity k = 1, here k = 0:91 0:02 [73].
Fig. 47. Response of a CVD diamond dosimeter as a function
of irradiation time for dierent dose rates [73].
Fig. 48. Relative sensitivity versus dose-rate for photons [72].
J. Barthe / Nucl. Instr. and Meth. in Phys. Res. B 184 (2001) 158189 185
supra-sensitivity for silicon diodes at energies
lower than 100 keV due to the photoelectric eect.
In Fig. 51, the shielded diode shows a better re-
sponse than the unshielded one. In that gure di-
amond is a bulk diamond from Russia.
In Fig. 52, diamond has been obtained by CVD
technique. The radiation characteristics seem to be
the same as for natural diamond. Dierences ap-
pear in electrical characteristics, mainly due to the
CVD diamond structure. In that case, the dia-
mond appears under an oriented micro-crystalline
form. The numerous grain joints trap a part of
charge carriers created by ionising radiation and in
that way diminish the sensitivity. This type of
trapping is relatively independent of the applied
electric eld.
Diamond dosimeters are used more and more
in medical applications such as radiotherapy.
Numerous studies have been made in this eld
[76]. In that purpose, a project, called the
CANDIDO project, was stated in Italy concern-
ing the development of a CVD diamond dosi-
meter for applications in radiotherapy [77].
Synthetic diamond lms, doped with nitrogen or
boron and grown on pseudo-lattice matched W,
SiO
2
, Si or Si
3
N
4
, have also been tested as a
detector for optical waves, X-ray photons and
charged particles [78]. Diamond studies have
been made for fast high voltage optically coupled
switches.
8. Silicon dioxide ionisation chamber
The principle of a silicon dioxide ionisation
chamber is close to that of diamond and liquid
ionisation chambers. In all cases, an insulator
volume is sandwiched between two electrodes.
They can be with a parallel or cylindrical geometry
according to the application. The silicon dioxide
chambers remained only of laboratory interest
because the yielded current is very low even if high
voltages are applied. However with regard to the
ionisation chambers lled up with dielectric liquid,
mainly saturated hydrocarbons, the silicon dioxide
chambers present a large stability with the time.
Fig. 53 gives the IV characteristics obtained with
a silicon dioxide chamber of 25 mm diameter and
Fig. 52. Relative response of silicon diode and diamond nor-
malised in function of air kerma for dierent energies [75].
Fig. 50. Stopping power ratios of electrons for silicon, carbon
and air relatively to water.
Fig. 51. Relative sensitivity of the Therados diodes and dia-
mond detector to mono-energetic photons (normalised to co-
balt-60) [72].
186 J. Barthe / Nucl. Instr. and Meth. in Phys. Res. B 184 (2001) 158189
500 lm thickness. The maximum applied voltage
on electrodes was 1.5 kV. Silicon dioxide detector
was obtained from a casting of silicon dioxide then
abraded and optically burnished. A guard ring is
used in order to reduce the leakage currents and to
make uniform the electric eld.
As for liquid ionisation chambers, the IV
characteristics tend toward a straight line, the
slope of which depends on the magnitude of the
electric eld. The collection eciency increases
with the electric eld but never reach a plateau.
The extrapolation of straight lines converges on
two points which are specic of the radiation LET
of the incident particles.
The intersection point corresponds to
26 keV cm
1
for photons and 28 keV cm
1
for
neutrons. This particularity is also found with
liquid ionisation chambers.
The silicon dioxide chambers show a transitory
polarisation eect, immediately after the voltage is
applied. An electric equilibrium appears and
reaches a stable state after a few minutes. Its value
depends on the irradiation dose-rate. Immediately
after the voltage is o, a residual current ows and
decreases to zero. Shapes of charges and dis-
charges are similar, indicating a reversible process.
9. Conclusion
The rst conclusion is that a dosimeter must be
adapted to the use for which it is intended. The
second is that a detector is not a dosimeter. In
many cases a good detector leads to a good dosi-
Fig. 53. IV characteristics for two incident particles and var-
ious dose-rates:
60
Co photons and neutrons from an AmBe
source [68].
Table 2
Comparative characteristics of the principles of solid state electronic dosimeters (radiation protection and radiotherapy)
Type of detector
Characteristics Diode MOSFET Diamond DIS
Size Possibly small Small Small Small
Power supply Yes Yes and No Yes No in general
Biasing voltage Possibly low Possibly low High Yes
Associated electronics Simple Very simple Precise Very simple
Real time measurements Yes Not in general Yes No yes possible
Integrated dose Yes Yes Yes Yes
Dose rate Yes No really No really No directly
Sensitivity Very high Low Low Very high
Sensitive to cumulated dose High Of course Low At saturation
Linearity with dose Good <1 kGy Good Good
Linearity with dose rate Good Good Good Good
Photon energy response at low energy Bad Bad Very good Very good
Tissue equivalence No No Yes Yes
Life time Dose function Dose function Long N.C.
Versatility Yes Yes Yes Yes
Temperature Sensitive No Low Medium
Detection threshold Very low High Low Very low
Saturation (dose rate) Yes No High level Medium level
J. Barthe / Nucl. Instr. and Meth. in Phys. Res. B 184 (2001) 158189 187
meter but this assertion is not always true. It is
worth recalling that a dosimeter with a very high
quality detector may be a very bad dosimeter,
particularly if the inuence of the surrounding
materials has not been taken into account as, for
example, the wall eects. A detector is one thing, a
dosimeter is another.
Table 2 summarises the main characteristics of
four solid state electronic dosimeters frequently
used in the elds of radiation protection and ra-
diotherapy. No data on the inuence of heavy
charged particles are given. In their case, the en-
ergy and nature play a fundamental role.
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