FSH3306 Detection Techniques for Nuclear and Particle Physics

Enrolled as PhD student

The course aims to provide the students with an understanding of basic radiation detection techniques for nuclear and particle physics and their applications in other fields of science, medicine and industry. After completion of the course the student shall be able to:

• Describe the basic interaction mechanisms relevant for radiation detectors and explain their importance for detecting various types of ionizing radiation at different energies.
• Describe the properties of the most common types of detector materials, the working principles behind detectors based on these materials and their characteristic properties with respect to energy resolution, efficiency etc.
• Apply the knowledge about radiation interactions and detector principles to choose the most suitable type of detector for a given detection task.
• Select the appropriate electronics building blocks needed for a certain detector system and explain their function.
• Describe common sources of noise in radiation detection, their origin and how they
  can be minimized.
• Explain the limiting factors to the energy and time resolution of a detector system.
• Use the standard Monte Carlo simulation package GEANT4 for understanding the
  performance of radiation detectors.
• Design a radiation detection system, including its basic electronics building blocks,
  and use it in the laboratory.
• Compile information from own work and from the scientific literature into a written
  report and an oral presentation.

• The interaction of electromagnetic and particle radiation with matter
• Energy loss mechanisms and spectrum formation. Measurement statistics.
• Basic principles of detectors for ionizing radiation
• Semiconductor detectors ( and ionization chambers)
• Scintillation detectors, photomultipliers and photodiodes
• Gaseous detectors
• Position sensitive detectors
• Detectors for weakly ionizing radiation
• Detector systems for particle tracking and calorimetry
• High-resolution gamma-ray detector systems
• Monte Carlo simulations as a tool for developing and understanding radiation detectors
• Signal formation, electronic noise and optimization of signal-to-noise ratio