Abstract
New radiation detector materials based on Transition Metal Oxides (TMOs) are being developed for applications in radiation protection and dosimetry. The TMOs are cheap, simple to manufacture and have semi-conductive properties indicating either p-type or n-type characteristics. Thus p-n junction diodes may be formed by combining p-type and n-type specific TMOs to produce radiation sensitive detectors. This has been done by layering the materials in a flame-spraying process.
This paper assesses the potential of these novel TMO radiation detectors for diagnostic energy x-rays.
Analysis of the charge generation and transport mechanisms of the prototype detectors has been carried out with a view to improving their charge collection efficiency and increasing the current signal-to-noise ratios (SNR). Linearity and photon energy dependence measurements have been performed, and the detectors show a fully-correctable near-linear response to x-ray tube current and the expected response to x-ray tube voltage. Additionally, a high level of reproducibility of these results over time-scales of days has been demonstrated.
Analysis of the macro-structure of these detectors has been carried out using an electron microscope. This analysis has indicated solutions to current limitations in reliability and stability seen in the detectors, many of which we believe can be overcome by improvements to the detector design and manufacturing process.