Electromagnetic material changes for remote detection and monitoring: a feasibility study: Progress report

A new concept for radiation detection is proposed, allowing a decoupling of the sensing medium and the readout. An electromagnetic material, such as a magnetic ceramic ferrite, is placed near a source to be tracked such as a shipping container. The electromagnetic material changes its properties, in this case its magnetic permeability, as a function of radiation. This change is evident as a change in reflection frequency and magnitude when probed using a microwave/millimeter-wave source. This brief report discusses modeling of radiation interaction of various candidate materials using a radiation detector modeling code Geant4, system design considerations for the remote readout, and some theory of the material interaction physics. The theory of radiation change in doped magnetic insulator ferrites such as yttrium iron garnet (YIG) seems well founded based on literature documentation of the photomagnetic effect. The literature also suggests sensitivity of permittivity to neutrons in some ferroelectrics. Research to date indicates that experimental demonstration of these effects in the context of radiation detection is warranted