CMOS-coupled NaI scintillation detector for gamma decay measurements

Abstract

We report an all-solid-state gamma-ray scintillation detector comprised of a NaI(Tl) crystal and a scientific-grade CMOS camera. After calibration, this detector exhibits excellent linearity over more than three decades of activity levels ranging from 10 mCi to 400 nCi. Because the detector is not counting pulses, dead-time correction is not required. Compared to systems that use a photomultiplier tube, this detector has similar sensitivity and noise characteristics on short time scales. On longer time scales, we measure drifts of a few percent over several days, which can be accommodated through regular calibration. Using this detector, we observe that when high activity sources are brought into close proximity to the NaI crystal, several minutes are required for the measured signal to achieve a steady state.