Jd. Johnson et al., LONG-RANGE ALPHA-DETECTOR SAMPLE MONITORING, Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment, 353(1-3), 1994, pp. 486-488
Long-range alpha detector (LRAD) systems are designed to monitor alpha
sources and contamination by measuring the number of ions created in
air by ionizing radiation. Traditional alpha detectors are designed to
detect alpha particles directly and must be passed slowly within abou
t 3 cm of an alpha source to operate effectively. LRAD detectors colle
ct the ions created from alpha interactions with air. Therefore, they
are better able to monitor equipment and complex surfaces and can be o
perated at a much greater distance from an alpha source than tradition
al alpha detectors. Furthermore, because LRAD detectors remain station
ary during monitoring, they are less subject to operator error than tr
aditional alpha detectors. This paper will discuss the basic operation
as well as recent advances that have been made to LRAD Sample Monitor
s.