• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.249-255
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• 2020

We develop the tissue-equivalent proportional counter (TEPC) type's space radiation dosimeter to measure in-situ aviation radiation. That was originally developed as a payload of small satellite in the low-earth orbit. This dosimeter is based on a TEPC. It is made of an A-150 tissue-equivalent plastic shell of an internal diameter of 6 cm and a thickness of 0.3 cm. TEPC is filled with pure propane at 13.9 torrs to simulate a cell diameter of 2 ㎛. And the associated portable and low power electronics are also implemented. The verification experiments have been performed by the calibration experiments at ground level and compared with Liulin observation at aircraft altitude during the flight between Incheon airport (ICN) and John F. Kennedy airport (JFK). We found that the TEPC dosimeter can be used as a monitor for space radiation dosimeter at aviation altitude based on the verification with Liulin observation.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.107-112
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• 2013

Tissue equivalent proportional counter (TEPC) can measure the Linear Energy Transfer (LET) spectrum and calculate the equivalent dose for the complicated radiation field in space. In this paper, we developed and characterized a TEPC for radiation monitoring in International Space Station (ISS). The prototype TEPC which can simulate a 2 ${\mu}m$ of the site diameter for micro-dosimetry has been tested with a standard alpha source ($^{241}Am$, 5.5 MeV). Also, the calibration of the TEPC was performed by the $^{252}Cf$ neutron standard source in Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS). The determined calibration factor was $k_f=3.59{\times}10^{-7}$ mSv/R.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.101-106
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• 2015

We designed, developed and characterized a multi-segmented tissue equivalent proportional (TEPC) counter for microdosimetry. The energy resolution of the multi-segmented TEPC was about 12% for $^{241}Am$ 5.45 MeV alpha particles. The resolution was better than 33% for a single un-segmented TEPC. A compact and low power consumption TEPC could be made by using digital pulse processor (DPP). We also successfully calibrated the TEPC by using $^{252}Cf$ standard neutron source in Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS). According to the results, the TEPC is useful for several application of radiation monitoring such as a neutron monitor, air crew monitor and space dosimeter.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.145-149
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• 2015

A newly designed Tissue Equivalent Proportional Counter (TEPC) has been developed for the CubeSat mission, SIGMA (Scientific cubesat with Instruments for Global Magnetic field and rAdiation) to investigate space radiation. In order to test the performance of the TEPC, we have performed heavy ion beam experiments with the Heavy Ion Medical Accelerator in Chiba (HIMAC), Japan. In space, human cells can be exposed to complex radiation sources, such as X-ray, Gamma ray, energetic electrons, protons, neutrons and heavy charged particles in a huge range of energies. These generate much a larger range of Linear Energy Transfer (LET) than on the ground and cause unexpected effects on human cells. In order to measure a large range of LET, from 0.3 to $1,000keV/{\mu}m$, we developed a compact TEPC which measures ionized particles produced by collisions between radiation sources and tissue equivalent materials in the detector. By measuring LET spectra, we can easily derive the equivalent dose from the complicated space radiation field. In this HIMAC experiment, we successfully obtained the linearity response for the TEPC with Fe 500 MeV/u and C 290 MeV/u beams and demonstrated the performance of the active radiation detector.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.81-86
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• 2012

The International Space Station (ISS) orbits the Earth within the inner radiation belt, where high-energy protons are produced by collisions of cosmic rays to the upper atmosphere. About 6 astronauts stay in the ISS for a long period, and it should be important to monitor and assess the radiation environment in the ISS. The tissue equivalent proportional counter (TEPC) is an instrument to measure the impact of radiation on the human tissue. KASI is developing a TEPC as a candidate payload of the ISS. Before the detailed design of the TEPC, we performed simulations to test whether our conceptual design of the TEPC will work propertly in the ISS and to predict its performance. The simulations estimated that the TEPC will measure the dose equivalent of about 1:1 mSv during a day in the ISS, which is consistent with previous measurements.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.327-335
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• 2003

The commercially available neutron survey meter, the REM500, which uses a tissue equivalent proportional counter (TEPC) and the self-constructed TEPC were used to determine the microdosimetric quantities of several neutron calibration fields at Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI). Microdosimetric spectra, absorbed dose, dose equivalent as well as quality factor were derived and compared with several neutron fields which were produced by using the shadow objects to make neutron scattered and being used as a kind of realistic neutron calibration fields at KAERI. The response of REM500 as a function of mean energy was evaluated with these neutron fields using the counts measured and the predetermined reference value. The response of the self-made TEPC and the REM500 was compared using one of the neutron calibration filelds of a $^{252}Cf$ source. The reference quantities of scattered neutron calibration fields were determined using a Bonner Sphere (BS). The value of frequency-mean lineal energy, dose-mean lineal energy and quality factor of two $^{252}Cf$ sources (unmoderated and $D_2O$ moderated) were determined to check the differences in the reference neutron fields between KAERI and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL, USA) and the results were in good agreement within 1%. It means that there is no big difference in dosimetric quantifies of neutron calibration fields of two laboratories.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.11
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• pp.4167-4172
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• 2023

Miniaturized tissue equivalent proportional counters (mini-TEPCs) are proper for radiation dosimetry in medical application because the small size of the dosimeter could prevent pile-up effect under the high intensity of therapeutic beam. However, traditional methods of calibrating mini-TEPCs using internal alpha sources are not feasible due to their small size. In this study, we investigated the use of electron and proton edges on Monte Carlo-generated lineal energy spectra as markers for calibrating a 0.9 mm diameter and length mini-TEPC. Three possible markers for each spectrum were calculated and compared using different simulation tools. Our simulations showed that the electron edge markers were more consistent across different simulation tools than the proton edge markers, which showed greater variation due to differences in the microdosimetric spectra. In most cases, the second marker, y_δδ, had the smallest uncertainty. Our findings suggest that the lineal energy spectra from mini-TEPCs can be calibrated using Monte Carlo simulations that closely resemble real-world detector and source geometries.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.229-236
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• 2020

There has been increasing necessity of more precise prediction and measurements of aviation radiation in Korea. For our air crew and passengers' radiation safety, we develop our own radiation prediction model of KREAM. In this paper, we validate the KREAM model based on comparison with Liulin observations. During early three months of this year, we perform total 25 experiments to measure aviation radiation exposure using Liulin-6K in commercial flights. We found that KREAM's result is very well consistent with Liulin observation in general. NAIRAS shows mostly higher results than Liulin observation, while CARI-6M shows generally lower results than the observations. The percent error of KREAM compared with Liulin observation is 10.95%. In contrast, the error for NAIRAS is 43.38% and 22.03% for CARI-6M. We found that the increase of the altitude might cause sudden increase in radiation exposure, especially for the polar route. As more comprehensive and complete analysis is required to validate KREAM's reliability to use for the public service, we plan to expand these radiation measurements with Liulin and Tissue Equivalent Proportional Counter (TEPC) in the near future.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.197-201
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• 2014

TEPC (Tissue Equivalent Proportional Counter) was usually used for high LET radiation dosimetry. We developed a prototype TEPC for micro-dosimetry in the range of $0.2{\sim}300 keV/{\mu}m$. And, the simulated site diameter of the TEPC is $2{\mu}m$, of similar size to a cell nucleus. For purposes of characterization the response for high LET radiation of the TEPC has been investigated under 135MeV/u Carbon ions in HIMAC (Heavy Ion Medical Accelerator). We determined the gas multiplication factor and measured the lineal energy spectrum [yd(y)] of 135 MeV/u Carbon ions. The value of the gas multiplication factor was 315 at 700 V bias voltage. As a result of the experiment, we could more understand the performance of the TEPC for high LET (Linear Energy Transfer) radiation. And the procedure of high LET radiation dosimetry using TEPC is established.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.54.1-54.1
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• 2014

Kyung Hee University has been developing a CubeSat for the space science mission called SIGMA (Scientific cubesat with Instrument for Global Magnetic field and rAdiation), which includes TEPC (Tissue Equivalent Proportional Counter) and a magnetometer. SIGMA has a 3-unit CubeSat, and the weight is about 3.2 kg. The main payload is TEPC which can measure the Linear Energy Transfer (LET) spectrum and calculate the equivalent dose for the complicated radiation field in the space. The magnetometer is a secondary payload using a miniaturized fluxgate magnetometer. We expect it to have a 1 nT resolution in the dynamic range of ${\pm}65535$ nT. An Attitude Control System (ACS) spins the SIGMA spacecraft 4 rpm with the spin axis perpendicular to the ecliptic plane. Full duplex communication is consists of VHF uplink and S-band and UHF downlink. In this paper, we introduce the system design and the scientific purpose of the SIGMA CubeSat mission.