Ionizing radiation in electronics from the Compton scattering of quasi-stationary particles generated by characteristic and Bremsstrahlung x rays

Abstract

Characteristic x rays generated by a collision between a tungsten target and relativistic electron beams generated from a compact electrostatic accelerator based on a Marx generator and a Blumlein pulse-forming line can induce transient ionizing radiation in electronics. While the decelerated electron beam is close to a collector out of range of an external magnetic field, Bremsstrahlung x rays occur at the same time. Compton scattering also occurs through secondary reaction interactions with quasi-stationary particles such as ejected inner shell electrons or photons. During a simulation, a semiconductor process is used to analyze the effects and processes of photocurrents derived from the flow of the drain current when transient pulses generated from the compact electrostatic accelerator are incident in the pMOSFET-AD420-based detector. The photocurrent induced from the detector is also measured by experimental results in comparison with a computer simulation, and a photocurrent detection experiment was then conducted with a high-pulse-current compact electrostatic accelerator. In addition, data pertaining to the irradiation dose rate and photon emission rate were obtained. In order to confirm the radiation pattern in the situation of Compton scattering, the ionizing radiation effect in the photosensitive phosphor was identified using a fluorescent lamp. During the experiment, a relativistic electron beam operating at high energy and current levels at a maximum of 1MeV-10 kA was utilized.