radiation measurement

One of the added benefits of pulse-mode operation is the fact that the arrival time of an individual quantum of radiation is closely related to the time of appearance of a pulse at the detector output. In many nuclear measurements, it is advantageous to be able to determine that two quanta are emitted in the same nuclear process and therefore may be sensed by two separate detectors in virtual time coincidence. Another example of the application of timing information is in the determination of the velocity or energy of a particle by measuring its flight time between its point of origin and a distant detector.

The timing information is carried by the leading edge or rising portion of the detector output pulse. The precision of timing measurements is enhanced in detectors that produce a prompt output pulse with a fast rise time. The time characteristics of the leading edge are related to the charge collection time from the detector, and the best timing performance is generally obtained from detectors in which the charges are collected most rapidly. For example, timing precision of less than one nanosecond can be obtained using organic scintillators for which the light (that is subsequently converted to charge in a photomultiplier tube) is emitted within a period of several nanoseconds following the deposition of the particle energy. On the other hand, timing measurements from gas-filled detectors may have an imprecision of up to one microsecond or more owing to the relatively long and sometimes variable charge-collection time of these devices.