An Inexpensive Alpha Spectrometer Based on a p-i-n Photodiode : Making Advanced Particle Detectors From Common Commercial Components

Abstract: The purpose of this project was to design, construct, and evaluate an alpha spectrometer based on an inexpensive p-i-n photodiode as a radiation detector. The BPX-61 p-i-n photodiode was selected and calculated to have a 93 µm wide sensitive volume at 25 V reverse bias. Electronics consisting of a charge-sensitive preamplifier, a pole-zero canceling CR-(RC)4 pulse shaping amplifier, and an adjustable detector bias voltage supply were devised and assembled. Several alpha spectra were recorded from different alpha radiation sources to determine the performance of the alpha spectrometer. The results show that the alpha spectrometer could successfully and accurately measure alpha spectra, which could then be used to identify radioactive materials present in the sources. An FWHM resolution of about 230 keV was measured for 5.486 MeV alpha particles from Am-241. This resolution is inferior to most alpha spectrometers that measure under vacuum. However, because the device does not require a vacuum pump and uses USB for power and data acquisition, it is a convenient and compact option for field measurements. The low cost and reasonable performance of commercial p-i-n photodiodes as radiation detectors could be appealing for future alpha spectroscopy applications.