Identifier

etd-11142007-230454

Degree

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Physics and Astronomy

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

A electronically collimated prototype detector was built with commercially available cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) modules and assessed by experiment and simulation. Sensitivity was roughly equivalent to a common hand held 1"x1" NaI(Tl) detector. The maximum useful count rate was 300 counts per second (cps) per module. Overall angular error was less than 7°, which is generally less than source placement uncertainty, and angular resolution was between 20° and 40° for several common isotopes with photon energies between 511 keV and 1333 keV. Prototype data and backprojections were used to verify a simple three dimensional model of charge induction in pixellated CZT using an uncollided flux Monte Carlo code. The goal was to devise a hand held radiation detector that can be made with rugged and commercially available parts that can see a 0.1 mCi source with an energy range of 70 keV to 2 MeV at three meters distance with an annular resolution of less than 25° full width at half maximum (FWHM). The prototype lacked sensitivity to meet this stringent goal but proved the modules and prototype concept useful for a variety of health physics applications.

Date

2007

Document Availability at the Time of Submission

Release the entire work immediately for access worldwide.

Committee Chair

Kenneth Matthews

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_theses.1044

Download

Share

COinS