Performance of a Radon Sensor Based on a BJT Detector on High-Resistivity Silicon
- A. Bosi
- L. Bidinelli
- D. Saguatti
- L. Rovati
- G. Verzellesi
- G. Batignani
- S. Bettarini
- F. Forti
- F. D'Errico
- A. Del Gratta
- L. Bosisio
- M. Calamosca
- S. Penzo
- F. Cardellini
- Dalla Betta, Gian Franco
- Tyzhnevyi, Vladyslav
- Rachevskaia, Irina
- Boscardin, Maurizio
- Giacomini, Gabriele
Publication date
January 2012
DOI Publisher
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)Abstract
An autonomous Radon sensor with wireless connectivity has been developed, using a BJT detector on high-resistivity silicon as alpha-particle detector. Charged Radon daughters are collected on the detector surface electrostatically. Thanks to the BJT internal amplification, real-time alpha particle detection is made possible using a very simple readout electronics which records alpha-particle arrival time and charge. Functional tests at known Radon concentrations demonstrated a sensitivity up to 4.9 cph/(100 Bq/m^3), which translates into the capability of detecting a Radon concentration of 200±20 Bq/m^3 and 500±50 Bq/m^3 after 10 and 4 h, respectively. The count rate at nominally-zero Radon concentration was 0.05 cph
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