Speaker
Description
Nuclear decommissioning demands a complete understanding of the radiological hazard present, which is often achieved through the combination of in-situ detection and the complementary radiochemistry. Current challenges with in-situ detection arise from the various functions present at nuclear installations. These place constraints on the detector geometry, precision, chemical and environmental resistance of the characterisation technology employed, frequently requiring tailored solutions. We investigate organic (polymer, oligomer, and small molecule) semiconductors deposited on flexible substrates as a conformal and tuneable solution to this challenge. Organic semiconductors in general have made headway in consumer electronics, such as OLED displays in mobile phones, as well as IR photodiodes, and flexible photovoltaics. In the last 20 years, organic semiconductors have been investigated as cheaper alternatives (compared to their inorganic counterparts) in the field of radiation detection, with all radiation types being reported in the literature with end-goal applications in medical dosimetry, nuclear security, and high energy physics. We aim to fabricate
flexible alpha particle sensors to be used for in-situ characterisation of buried structures (pipelines) and scaffolding present on Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) sites. Characterisation in this context includes: 1. Contamination location. 2. Radioactivity. 3. Radioisotope identification. Investigations into the alpha detection capabilities of these diode-style organic sensors are undertaken in laboratory conditions utilising 241-Am sources, with an initial interest in understanding the detection capabilities of the sensor element alone, with respect to minimum detectable activity and sensitivity to particle energy. The end goal of this project will be to combine our sensors with an eversion robot and perform in-situ characterisation at an NDA site.