Aim of the course is to learn the practical use of scintillation detectors, solid-state detectors (HPGe, Si including SiPM, CZT) and instrumentation used in medical and environmental physics.
The minimum prerequisites are: principles of radiation-matter interaction, electronics, statistics and data analysis.
The proposed laboratory experiences are (not necessarily in chronological order):
- NaI(Tl) chain assembly.
- Energy calibration of a NaI(Tl) chain.
- Analysis of gamma spectra.
- Identification of radionuclides by gamma spectrometry.
- Energy resolution of a NaI(Tl).
- Measurement of radionuclide activity.
- Measurement of mass attenuation coefficient of Pb and Al using gamma photons.
- Measurement of surface contamination.
- Efficiency calibration of an HPGe.
- Neutron activation and analysis of activated samples.
- Characterisation of a SiPM array.
- Alpha spectrometry.
- Characterisation of a CZT solid-state detector and gamma spectrometry for BNCT.
- Educational prototypes of PET scans.
The course is organised in frontal lectures and laboratory experiences. In the slides, the theory is recalled and the technology of the instruments that will be used in the laboratory is introduced.
- Trainer/in: NICOLETTA PROTTI