Radiation Click Board™

Product Code: MIKROE-4036

How Does The Radiation Click Board™ Work? The Radiation Click Board™ detects beta and gamma radiation and X-rays by using PIN diode inside BG51 as sensor. A PIN diode is a diode with a wide region of intrinsic semiconductor material (undoped) contained between a p-type semiconductor and an n-type semiconductor. The advantage of a PIN diode is that the depletion region exists almost completely within the intrinsic region, which has a constant width (or almost constant) regardless of disturbances applied to the diode. Interaction of radiation beta, gama, and X-rays with the p-i-n diode structure generates a dark current in diode junction due to the charge carriers generation. This is detected by electronic circuit as the dark current peaks and interrupt is reported on INT pin of mikroBUS™ and indicator LED/BUZZER . In a heuristic sense, nuclear radiation is the effluence from a nuclear radiation source that consists of energy in the form of particles or waves. The waves are represented as photons or quanta of radiant energy.

A radiation detector may be exposed to neutrons (particles), gamma rays, X-rays, or other radiation energy. The radiation can vary in energy density, wavelength, and duration. There are two types of detected radiation readout: counts or radiation dose. The counts display is the simplest and is the number of ionizing events detected displayed either as a count rate, such as "counts per minute" or "counts per second", or as a total number of counts over a set time period (an integrated total). The counts readout is normally used when alpha or beta particles are being detected. More complex to achieve is a display of radiation dose rate, displayed in a unit such as the sievert which is normally used for measuring gamma or X-ray dose rates. There is an option to produce audible clicks representing the number of ionization events detected. This is the distinctive sound normally associated with handheld or portable Geiger counters. The purpose of this is to allow the user to concentrate on manipulation of the instrument whilst retaining auditory feedback on the radiation rate. SPECIFICATIONS Type Environmental Applications Equipment for detecting radioactivity in medical environment, Radiation monitors for nuclear safeguards and security, Gamma detector to detect illicit nuclear material, Natural sciences courses and practical lab experiments On-board modules BG51 radiation sensor is based on an array of customized PIN diodes Key Features Detects beta and gamma radiation and X-rays, Detector sensitivity: 5 cpm/μSv/h, High immunity to RF and electrostatic fields, Linear response over wide temperature range (-30°C to 60°C) Interface GPIO Compatibility mikroBUS Click board size L (57.15 x 25.4 mm) Input Voltage 5V PINOUT DIAGRAM This table shows how the pinout of the Radiation Click Board™ corresponds to the pinout on the mikroBUS™ socket (the latter shown in the two middle columns). Notes Pin Pin Notes NC 1 AN PWM 16 NC NC 2 RST INT 15 INT Interrupt NC 3 CS RX 14 NC NC 4 SCK TX 13 NC NC 5 MISO SCL 12 NC NC 6 MOSI SDA 11 NC NC 7 3.3V 5V 10 5V Power Supply Ground GND 8 GND GND 9 GND Ground ONBOARD SETTINGS AND INDICATORS Label Name Default Description PWR LED GREEN - Power LED Indicator LD2 IND - Radiation Indicator LED PZ1 BUZZER - Radiation Indicator BUZZER SW1 INDICATOR OFF Enable/Disable Indicator LED/BUZZER