• IEIE Transactions on Smart Processing and Computing
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• 제6권2호
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• pp.124-128
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• 2017

A light guide improves the spatial resolution of a gamma ray imaging system by diffusing the scintillation light. Similarly, light diffusion film, which has been applied to flat-panel-display engineering, spreads the light from the light guide panel. In this study, we adopted light diffusion film for the light guide of a gamma ray imaging system, and evaluated its diffusion characteristics. We compared the light diffusion performance of the film to an ordinary acrylic plate. As a result, the diffusion film widely spreads scintillation light. As for the thickness of the light guide, we acquired more distinct images with three films overlapped than with an acrylic plate. We expect light diffusion film to be a promising candidate for light guides in gamma ray imaging systems.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• 제47권4호
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• pp.214-225
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• 2022

Background: The conventional cerium-doped Gd₂Al₂Ga₃O₁₂ (GAGG(Ce)) scintillator-based gamma-ray imager has a bulky detector, which can lead to incorrect positioning of the gammaray source if the shielding against background radiation is not appropriately designed. In addition, portability is important in complex environments such as inside nuclear power plants, yet existing gamma-ray imager based on a tungsten mask tends to be weighty and therefore difficult to handle. Motivated by the need to develop a system that is not sensitive to background radiation and is portable, we changed the material of the scintillator and the coded aperture. Materials and Methods: The existing GAGG(Ce) was replaced with Bi₄Ge₃O₁₂ (BGO), a scintillator with high gamma-ray detection efficiency but low energy resolution, and replaced the tungsten (W) used in the existing coded aperture with lead (Pb). Each BGO scintillator is pixelated with 144 elements (12 × 12), and each pixel has an area of 4 mm × 4 mm and the scintillator thickness ranges from 5 to 20 mm (5, 10, and 20 mm). A coded aperture consisting of Pb with a thickness of 20 mm was applied to the BGO scintillators of all thicknesses. Results and Discussion: Spectroscopic characterization, imaging performance, and image quality evaluation revealed the 10 mm-thick BGO scintillators enabled the portable gamma-ray imager to deliver optimal performance. Although its performance is slightly inferior to that of existing GAGG(Ce)-based gamma-ray imager, the results confirmed that the manufacturing cost and the system's overall weight can be reduced. Conclusion: Despite the spectral characteristics, imaging system performance, and image quality is slightly lower than that of GAGG(Ce), the results show that BGO scintillators are preferable for gamma-ray imaging systems in terms of cost and ease of deployment, and the proposed design is well worth applying to systems intended for use in areas that do not require high precision.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제52권11호
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• pp.2572-2580
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• 2020

Emerging gamma ray detection applications that utilize neutron-based interrogation result in the prompt emission of high-energy (>2 MeV) gamma-rays. Rapid imaging is enabled by scintillators that possess high density, high atomic number, and excellent energy resolution. In this paper, we evaluate the bright (50,000 photons/MeV) oxide scintillator, cerium-doped Gd₂Al₂Ga₃O₁₂ (GAGG(Ce)). A silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) array is coupled to a GAGG(Ce) scintillator array (12 × 12 pixels) and integrated into a coded-aperture based gamma-ray imaging system. A resistor-based symmetric charge division circuit was used reduce the multiplicity of the analog outputs from 144 to 4. The developed system exhibits 9.1%, 8.3%, and 8.0% FWHM energy resolutions at 511 keV, 662 keV, and 1173.2 keV, respectively. In addition, a pixel-identification resolution of 602 ㎛ FWHM was obtained from the GAGG(Ce) scintillator array.

• IEIE Transactions on Smart Processing and Computing
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• 제6권1호
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• pp.66-70
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• 2017

Radioactive materials are used in medicine, non-destructive testing, and nuclear plants. Source localization is especially important during nuclear decommissioning and decontamination because the actual location of the radioactive source within nuclear waste is often unknown. The coded-aperture imaging technique started with space exploration and moved into X-ray and gamma ray imaging, which have imaging process characteristics similar to each other. In this study, we simulated $21{\times}21$ and $37{\times}37$ coded aperture collimators based on a modified uniformly redundant array (MURA) pattern to make a gamma imaging system that can localize a gamma-ray source. We designed a $21{\times}21$ coded aperture collimator that matches our gamma imaging detector and did feasibility experiments with the coded aperture imaging system. We evaluated the performance of each collimator, from 2 mm to 10 mm thicknesses (at 2 mm intervals) using root mean square error (RMSE) and sensitivity in a simulation. In experimental results, the full width half maximum (FWHM) of the point source was $5.09^{\circ}$ at the center and $4.82^{\circ}$ at the location of the source was $9^{\circ}$. We will continue to improve the decoding algorithm and optimize the collimator for high-energy gamma rays emitted from a nuclear power plant.

• 한국정보통신학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국정보통신학회 2016년도 추계학술대회
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• pp.944-945
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• 2016

감마선 영상화 장치에서 감마선을 탐지하는 검출부는 선원을 바라보는 Collimator와 Collimator 이외의 방향에서 입사되는 감마선을 차폐하기 위한 차폐체로 구성되며 검출센서는 해당 차폐체 내부에 위치하게 된다. 감마선에 대한 분포는 Collimator의 입사구를 통해 들어오는 신호와 검출부가 바라보는 방향에 대한 정보를 통해 분포를 나타낼 수 있다. 때문에 입사구에서 들어오는 신호 외에는 잡음으로 처리해야 하므로 차폐체의 역할이 중요하다. 본 논문에서는 상용 감마선 탐지장치의 보다 축소된 납 기반의 콜리메이터 및 차폐체에 대하여 구조와 물성을 변경하여 소형, 경량화 된 Collimator 및 차폐체를 제작하였다. 또한 감마선 조사시험시설을 이용하여 감마선 입사구의 측정된 신호값을 기준으로 차폐 효율을 분석하였다. 분석결과 제작된 Collimator 및 차폐체가 영상화 장치구현를 구현하는데 보다 효율적임을 확인하였다.

• 전자공학회논문지
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• 제52권4호
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• pp.197-203
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• 2015

전 세계적으로 전력생산을 위해 원전 증설이 지속적으로 증가하고 있으며 이에 따라 노후 원전에 대한 해체 및 원전사고에 대한 관심이 증가하고 있다. 원전 사고 시 발생되는 감마선원의 누출은 신속하고 정확한 탐지해야 그 피해를 최소화 시킬 수 있다. 기 개발된 장비는 선원에 대한 방향정보만을 나타내고 있어 정확한 공간상의 분포를 알 수 없다. 본 논문에서 개발한 스테레오 감마선탐지장치는 누출된 감마선원에 대한 분포를 측정할 수 있도록 구현하고 거리탐지를 위한 알고리즘을 적용하였다. 거리탐지를 위하여 스테레오 보정을 LED광과 보정패턴을 사용하여 진행하였고, LED 광원과 감마선원을 대상으로 성능시험을 진행하였다. 성능시험 결과 두 실험에서 5%이하의 오차를 갖게 됨을 확인하였다. 본 논문의 결과는 향후 고속 경량화 된 감마선 영상화 장치 개발을 위한 자료로 활용될 것이다.

• 전기학회논문지
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• 제58권7호
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• pp.1450-1455
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• 2009

Assumed that an IPTV camera system is to be used as an ad-hoc sensor for the surveillance and diagnostics of safety-critical equipments installed in the in-containment building of the nuclear power plant, an major problem is the presence of high dose-rate gamma irradiation fields inside the one. In order to uses an IPTV camera in such intense gamma radiation environment of the in-containment building, the radiation-weakened devices including a CCD imaging sensor, FPGA, ASIC and microprocessors are to be properly shielded from high dose-rate gamma radiation using the high-density material, lead or tungsten. But the passive elements such as mirror, lens and window, which are placed in the optical path of the CCD imaging sensor, are exposed to a high dose-rate gamma ray source directly. So, the gamma-ray irradiation characteristics of the passive elements, is needed to test. A CCD camera lens, made of glass material, have been gamma irradiated at the dose rate of 4.2 kGy/h during an hour up to a total dose of 4 kGy. The radiation induced color-center in the glass lens is observed. The degradation performance of the gamma irradiated lens is explained using an color component analysis.

• 센서학회지
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• 제24권3호
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• pp.202-207
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• 2015

As a feasibility study on development of a gamma imaging probe, we developed a scintillating film-based gamma imaging detector that can obtain scintillation images with information of gamma-ray distribution. The scintillating film-based gamma imaging detector was composed of a sensing probe, an image intensifier, and a beam profiler. To detect and transmit scintillation image, the sensing probe was fabricated by coupling a scintillating film, a fiber-optic image conduit, and a fiber-optic taper, consecutively. First, the optical images of USAF 1951 resolution target were obtained and then, modulation transfer function values were calculated to test the image quality of the sensing probe. Second, we measured the scintillation images according to the activity of the 137Cs and the distance between the surface of 137Cs and the distal-end of sensing probe. Finally, the intensities of scintillating light as functions of the activity and the distance were evaluated from the region of interest in the scintillation image. From the results of this study, it is expected that a fiber-optic gamma imaging detector can be developed to detect gamma-rays emitted from radiopharmaceuticals during radioimmunoguided surgery.

• 한국정보통신학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국정보통신학회 2016년도 춘계학술대회
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• pp.773-774
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• 2016

본 논문에서는 감마선원 영상화를 위한 감마선 탐지장치에 적용할 차폐체의 경량, 소형화 연구를 수행하였다. 선행 연구를 통해 상용 감마선 영상화 장치의 차폐체와 유사한 차폐효율 및 성능을 나타내는 납 기반의 차폐체를 구현하였으며, 본 논문에서는 납 기반의 차폐체보다 경량화, 소형화를 위해 텅스텐기반의 차폐체를 설계하였다. 차폐체 설계를 위해서 MCNP 전산모사를 수행하였으며, 그 결과 17%의 경량화 및 51%의 체적을 줄이는 결과를 얻었다.

• 한국정보통신학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국정보통신학회 2016년도 추계학술대회
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• pp.948-949
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• 2016

본 논문에서는 감마선원 영상화를 위한 감마선 탐지장치에 적용할 차폐체의 구조 변경에 대한 연구를 수행하였다. 선행 연구를 통해 상용 감마선 영상화 장치의 차폐체와 차폐효율은 유사하지만 경량화 그리고 무게중심을 이동시킨 차폐체를 구현하였다. 본 논문에서는 모션 제어장치의 효율적인 동작을 위해 차폐체를 변경하였다. 차폐체 설계를 위해서 MCNP 전산모사를 수행하였으며, 그 결과 약 15%의 경량화 및 무게중심을 차폐체 중심으로 이동시키는 결과를 얻었다.