ABSTRACT
No description of any detector system is complete without a discussion of the electronic system associated with the detector proper. This interdependence arises from two factors: (1) the fact that in the majority of detectors the product of radiation absorption in the detector volume is the accumulation of electric charge or the momentary appearance of a charge pulse, and (2) the requirement in most cases for treating and evaluating the detection event in terms of its occurrence frequency, its magnitude or any other experimental parameter, all of which usually is handled most conveniently by means of electronic circuits. The evolution and revolution in electronics that has accompanied the increasing speed and complexity in functions that have become possible through developments in semiconductor electronics have had their impact in the field of radiation detection too, leading to the elimination of many time-consuming operations and to impressive systems capable of automatic sample selection, programming of experimental sequences and computation, video presentation, and storage and recording of a wide variety of detection operations. Though a detailed description of many such systems goes beyond the scope of this book and can be found in the commercial literature, there are certain basic functions of the electronic systems that are inherent in the use of many detectors and must be fully understood for intelligent use of the detectors. It is dangerous and generally unsatisfactory to consider the electronic portion of a detector system solely as a “black box,” with certain connections to be made and buttons to be pushed for operation.
