ABSTRACT
Most of the applications within radiation sciences rely on the ability to detect and/or quantify ionizing radiation. For this aim, various kinds of detectors have been developed that utilize the basic principles of detection of ionizing radiation, which are presented in this chapter. The basic physics behind the features of gas-filled detectors – ionization chambers, proportional counters and Geiger-Müller (GM) counters – are discussed, as are the physical processes involved in the working of organic and inorganic scintillating materials as detectors for ionizing radiation. This chapter also covers the basics of integrating luminescent dosimeters, and of chemical detectors. Some of the specific features that affect the performance of a detector or detector system are discussed in terms of, for example, time and energy resolution, efficiency, and tissue equivalence, and examples of configurations of detectors for various applications are given. The latter include neutron detectors, electronic personal dosimeters, activity calibrators and whole-body counters.
