• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.11-16
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• 2023

In preclinical positron emisson tomography(PET), spatial resolution degradation occurs outside the field of view(FOV). To solve this problem, a depth of interaction(DOI) detector was developed that measures the position where gamma rays and the scintillator interact. There are a method in which a scintillation pixel array is composed of multiple layers, a method in which photosensors are arranged at both ends of a single layer, a method in which a scintillation pixel array is constituted in several layers and a photosensor is arranged in each layer. In this study, a new type of DOI detector was designed by analyzing the characteristics of the previously developed detectors. In the two-layer detector, different sizes of scintillation pixels were used for each layer, and the array size was configured differently. When configured in this form, the positions of the scintillation pixels for each layer are arranged to be shifted from each other, so that they are imaged at different positions in a flood image. DETECT2000 simulation was performed to confirm the possibility of measuring the depth of interaction of the designed detector. A flood image was reconstructed from a light signal acquired by a gamma-ray event generated at the center of each scintillation pixel. As a result, it was confirmed that all scintillation pixels for each layer were separated from the reconstructed flood image and imaged to measure the interaction depth. When this detector is applied to preclinical PET, it is considered that excellent images can be obtained by improving spatial resolution.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.282-285
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• 2016

Background: To optimize the photon transmission efficiency of light guides used in scintillation detectors, LightTools code, which can construct and track light, was used to analyze photon transmission effectiveness with respect to light guides thickness. Materials and Methods: This analysis was carried out using the commercial light guide, N-BK 7 Optical Glass by SCHOTT, as a model for this study. The luminous exitance characteristic of the LYSO scintillator was used to analyze the photon transmission effectiveness according to the thickness of the light guide. Results and Discussion: The results of the simulations showed the effectiveness of the photon transmission according to the thickness of the light guide, which was found to be distributed from 13.38% to 33.57%. In addition, the photon transmission efficiency was found to be the highest for light guides of 4 mm of thickness and a receiving angle of $49^{\circ}$. Conclusion: Through such simulations, it is confirmed that photon transmission efficiency depends on light guide thickness and subsequent changes in the internal angle of reflection. The aim is to produce an actual light guide based on these results and to evaluate its performance.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Medical Physics Conference
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• 2002.09a
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• pp.195-198
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• 2002

A positron camera, consisting of a pair of Anger-type scintillation detectors, has been developed for verifying the ranges of irradiation beams in heavy-ion radiotherapy. Images obtained by a centroid calculation of photomultiplier outputs exhibit a distortion near the edge of the crystal plane in an Anger-type scintillation detector. The images of a $\^$68/Ge line source were detected and look-up tables were prepared for the position correction parameters. Asymmetry of the position distribution detected by the positron camera was prevented with this correction. As a result, a linear position response and a position resolution of 8.6 mm were obtained over a wide measurement field.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.77-84
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• 2005

The authors submit the data concerning the methods of obtaining semiconductor scintillators on the basis of the zinc chalcogenide crystal doped with impurities (Te, Cd, O, $Me^{III}-metals$ Al, In, etc.). Characteristics of such crystals and mechanisms for the semiconductor scintillator luminescence are described as well. The scintillator luminescence spectra maximums are located within the range 450-640nm, which depends on the method of preparing the scintillator. The luminescence decay time ranges within $0.5-10{\mu}s\;and\;30-150{\mu}s$. The afterglow level is less than 0.01% after $10-20{\mu}s$, and the radiation stability is ${\geq}5{\cdot}10^8$ rad. Thermostability of the output characteristics of new semiconductor scintillators on the basis of zinc selenide is prescribed by thermodynamic stability of the principal associative radiative recombination centers that come into existence due to the crystal lattice inherent imperfections. Certain application fields of the new scintillators are examined taking into account their particular qualities.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.112-119
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• 2021

Background: This work aims to develop a new imaging system based on a pulse shape discrimination-capable Cs₂LiYCl₆:Ce (CLYC) scintillation detector combined with the rotational modulation collimator (RMC) technique for dual-particle imaging. Materials and Methods: In this study, a CLYC-based RMC system was designed based on Monte Carlo simulations, and a prototype was fabricated. Therein, a rotation control system was developed to rotate the RMC unit precisely, and a graphical user interface-based software was also developed to operate the data acquisition with RMC rotation. The RMC system was developed to allow combining various types of collimator masks and detectors interchangeably, making the imaging system more versatile for various applications and conditions. Results and Discussion: Operational performance of the fabricated system was studied by checking the accuracy and precision of the collimator rotation and obtaining modulation patterns from a gamma-ray source repeatedly. Conclusion: The prototype RMC system showed reliability in its mechanical properties and reproducibility in the acquisition of modulation patterns, and it will be further investigated for its dual-particle imaging capability with various complex radioactive source conditions.

• Journal of Radiation Industry
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.69-73
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• 2023

Commercially used organic scintillation materials (1,4 di[2-(5phenyloxazolyl)] benzene) have low solubility in solvents and a wide emission energy range, which causes a decrease in detection efficiency. In this study, an organic liquid scintillator with improved detection efficiency was developed using 7-Diethylamino-4-methylcoumarin material to compensate for the disadvantages of existing organic scintillation detectors. And to evaluate the applicability of radiation measurement, the performance of a commercial plastic detector was compared. As a result of analyzing the ⁶⁰Co detection characteristics by applying 7-Diethylamino-4-methylcoumarin as an alternative to 1,4 di[2-(5phenyloxazolyl)] benzene, the detection efficiency was improved around 2% compared with commercial scintillator when the 7-Diethylamino-4-methylcoumarin content was 0.04 wt%. Based on the results of this study, the possibility of improving detection efficiency through scintillator material modification was confirmed. In addition, since it is possible to discriminate nuclide through the spectrum correction algorithm, it will be possible to inspect and classify various decommissioning wastes generated during the decommissioning process.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.1091-1097
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• 2019

After the Fukushima accident in 2011, there has been increased public concern about radioactive contamination of water resources through fallout in neighboring countries. However, there is still no available initial response system that can promptly detect radionuclides. The purpose of this research is to develop the most efficient gamma spectrometer to monitor radionuclides in an aquatic environment. We chose a thallium-doped sodium iodide (NaI(Tl)) scintillator readout with a silicon photo multiplier (SiPM) due to its compactness and low operating voltage. Three types of a scintillation detector were tested. One was composed of a scintillator and a photomultiplier tube (PMT) as a reference; another system consisted of a scintillator and an array of SiPMs with a light guide; and the other was a scintillator directly coupled with an array of SiPMs. Among the SiPM-based detectors, the direct coupling system showed the best energy resolution at all energy peaks. It achieved 9.76% energy resolution for a 662 keV gamma ray. Through additional experiments and a simulation, we proved that the light guide degraded energy resolution with increasing statistical uncertainty. The results indicated that the SiPM-based scintillation detector with no light guide is the most efficient design for monitoring radionuclides in an aquatic environment.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.321-328
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• 2019

The detection performances of the NaI(Tl), $LaBr_3$(Ce) and $CeBr_3$ scintillation detectors, which can be used to rapidly evaluate the major artificial radionuclides deposited on the soil surface in a nuclear accident or radiological emergency, were compared. Detection performance was assessed by calculating the minimum detectable activity (MDA). The detection efficiency of each detector for artificial radionuclides was semi-empirically determined using mathematical modelling and point-like sources having certified radioactivity. The background gamma-ray energy spectrum for MDA evaluation was obtained from relatively wide and flat grassland, and the MDA values of each detector for the major artificial radionuclides that could be released in nuclear accidents were calculated. As a result, the relative MDA values of each detector regarding surface deposition distribution at normal environmental radiation level were evaluated as high in the order of the NaI(Tl), $LaBr_3$(Ce), and $CeBr_3$ detectors. These results were compared based on each detector's intrinsic and measurement environment background, detection efficiency, and energy resolution for the gamma-ray energy region of the radionuclide of interest.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.10
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• pp.3913-3923
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• 2023

Todays, medium energy resolution detectors are preferably used in radioisotope identification devices(RID) in nuclear and radioactive material categorization. However, there is still a need to develop or enhance « automated identifiers » for the useful RID algorithms. To decide whether any material is SNM or NORM, a key parameter is the better energy resolution of the detector. Although masking, shielding and gain shift/stabilization and other affecting parameters on site are also important for successful operations, the suitability of the RID algorithm is also a critical point to enhance the identification reliability while extracting the features from the spectral analysis. In this study, a RID algorithm based on Bayesian statistical method has been modified for medium energy resolution detectors and applied to the uranium gamma-ray spectra taken by a LaBr3:Ce detector. The present Bayesian RID algorithm covers up to 2000 keV energy range. It uses the peak centroids, the peak areas from the measured gamma-ray spectra. The extraction features are derived from the peak-based Bayesian classifiers to estimate a posterior probability for each isotope in the ANSI library. The program operations were tested under a MATLAB platform. The present peak based Bayesian RID algorithm was validated by using single isotopes(²⁴¹Am, ⁵⁷Co, ¹³⁷Cs, ⁵⁴Mn, ⁶⁰Co), and then applied to five standard nuclear materials(0.32-4.51% at.²³⁵U), as well as natural U- and Th-ores. The ID performance of the RID algorithm was quantified in terms of F-score for each isotope. The posterior probability is calculated to be 54.5-74.4% for ²³⁸U and 4.7-10.5% for ²³⁵U in EC-NRM171 uranium materials. For the case of the more complex gamma-ray spectra from CRMs, the total scoring (ST) method was preferred for its ID performance evaluation. It was shown that the present peak based Bayesian RID algorithm can be applied to identify ²³⁵U and ²³⁸U isotopes in LEU or natural U-Th samples if a medium energy resolution detector is was in the measurements.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.423-431
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• 1999

A radiotracer technique has been developed to monitor the rotational movement of two piston rings in one cylinder during engine operation. The rings were labeled with two different kinds of radioisotopes, i.e. $^{60}$ Co and $^{192}$ Ir, for identification of the top ring from the second ring. The radiotracers were implanted in a small hole bored on the inner side of each piston ring. The rings were installed in a single cylinder hydrogen engine and three Nal scintillation detectors were mounted around the engine block to measure the gamma radiation. The angle of ring-gap orientation was determined from the radiation counts measured with the three detectors during engine operation. Two windows (upper window for $^{60}$ Co and lower window for $^{192}$ Ir) were set on each ratemeter to count radiation from the two isotopes separately. Procedure to convert the radiation counts to the position of the ring gap was established. With the software programmed with MS-Visualbasic, radiation counts were compared with the reference responses that were measured at angular intervals of 10$^{\circ}$for each piston ring in advance of the experiment. The result was used for the evaluation of the relationship between the orientation of ring-gaps and oil consumption. It was found that an increase in the oil consumption rate of a specific operation condition was closely related to the relative phase angle of the two piston rings.