Utilization of phoswich detectors for simultaneous, multiple radiation detection

A phoswich radiation detector is comprised of a phosphor sandwich in which several different phosphors are viewed by a common photomultiplier. By selecting the appropriate phosphors, this system can be used to simultaneously measure multiple radiation types (alpha, beta, gamma and/or neutron) with a single detector. Differentiation between the signals from the different phosphors is accomplished using digital pulse shape discrimination techniques. This method has been shown to result in accurate discrimination with highly reliable and versatile digital systems. This system also requires minimal component count (i.e., only the detector and a computer for signal processing). A variety of detectors of this type have been built and tested including: (1) a triple phoswich system for alpha/beta/gamma swipe counting, (2) two well-type detectors for measuring low levels of low energy photons in the presence of a high energy background, (3) a large area detector for measuring beta contamination in the presence of a photon background, and (4) another large area detector for measuring low energy photons from radioactive elements such as uranium in the presence of a photon background. An annular geometry, triple phoswich system optimized for measuring alpha/beta/gamma radiation in liquid waste processing streams is currently being designed. (author)