2.1. Principle and Curve Distribution Law of Gas Ionisation Chamber Detectors
When the gas ionization chamber detector is in use, the voltage-current variations at different stages are shown in
Figure 3 as the voltage applied on both sides of the pole plate continues to rise:
Zone I is the recombination region. Under low voltage, some free electrons and positively charged atoms produced by neutron reactions will recombine into uncharged atoms, which cannot be completely collected by the two sides of the plate. Zone II is the ionization region. Under high voltage, most of the free electrons and positive ions produced by the impact will be collected by the positive and negative electrodes, respectively, generating a pulse current. An inflection point exists between zones I and II, which is used to distinguish between the two zones.
In practice, most of the voltage-current data distributions involve only the recombination and ionization regions[
11]. α particles and Li
+ particles produced by the nuclear reaction of neutrons hitting the boron coating are ionized by argon gas in the space around the coating to produce Ar
+. The rate of production of Ar
+ remains constant at an approximately constant neutron flux. The recombination rate of Ar
+ particles produced is positively correlated with their concentration and reaches a steady state when the production rate equals the recombination rate as the concentration increases. At this point, the Ar
+ particles are mainly concentrated near the boron coating, and the amount of Ar
+ remains constant in the steady state. There is a competitive relationship between the recombination of argon after being ionized and the adsorption of positive and negative particles generated after ionization by the positive and negative plates, respectively. The total energy of the particles in the entire system during the steady-state phase can be considered constant.
The energy distribution of a particle at equilibrium can be described by the Boltzmann function:
According to the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution of particles, their energy distribution follows a normal distribution. The partial velocities Vx, Vy, and Vz in each direction of the 3D XYZ coordinates also follow a normal distribution [
12].
It can be deduced that: (In the following text, N(μ, σ2 ) denotes the normal distribution, the two parameters are the mean (μ) and the variance (σ2 ), and Φ(μ, σ2 , a) denotes the distribution function of the normal distribution N(μ, σ2 ), i.e. Φ(x) , the value at x = a)
1. The initial energy distribution of the particles in the vertical pole plate direction obeys N(μ, σ2 )
2. The number of particles with energy less than a in the direction of the perpendicular pole plate obeys: f(a) = Φ(μ, σ2 , a )
3. The number of particles above a certain energy a in the direction of the perpendicular pole plate is: f(a) = 1 - Φ(μ, σ2 , a)
It is evident from the detector design that a certain energy threshold is necessary for a particle to reach the polar plate, generate a pulse, and be recorded. That is, the particle still requires a certain amount of energy to generate a pulse current after reaching the pole plate. When particles are set perpendicular to the pole plate direction in the X direction, they reach the other pole plate, generating pulses that are recorded. The required energy remains constant. As the voltage between the pole plates increases while the distance between them remains constant, the energy acquired by the particle moving through the pole plate is directly related to the increase in the energy needed for the particle to be captured perpendicular to the pole plate's direction. This energy increase is followed by a corresponding decrease in the total number of captured particles. There is the following derivation:
1. assuming that the total energy required for the particle to cross the pole plate and be accepted is 1.
2. Percentage of energy required for a particle to reach and be recorded under conditions where the voltage provides a percentage of energy to the particle as b: 1 - b
3. the number of particles that can reach and be recorded at a voltage percentage of b: f(b) = 1 - Φ(μ, σ2 , 1 - b)
4. Collation gives the number of particles that can be reached and recorded at a voltage percentage of b: f(b) = Φ(μ, σ2 , b)
where Φ(x) distribution is the number of particles arriving at the pole plate as a function of voltage. the parameters σ and μ of Φ(x) will be determined from the detector hardware parameters such as the distance between the pole plates, the size of the base threshold, and the initial energy distribution of the particles in the perpendicular pole plate direction.
where the detector pulse height should be 0 when voltage = 0. This is obtained from the law of relationship between the parameters of the Φ(x) distribution function and the function value:
1. The parameter σ of the Φ(x) distribution is approximately equal to 1/3 the length of the reorganisation region (according to the 3sigma principle)
2. Φ(x) distribution has values from 0-1, corresponding to 0%-100% of the maximum value of the pulse current in the recombination region (rightmost value)
3, the parameter σ of the Φ(x) distribution can be approximated as the maximum voltage value in the 1/2 recombination region
The above serves as the basis for the analysis of the curve basis function Φ(x).
2.2. Derivation of Particle Energy Loss Laws for Gas Ionisation Chambers
The interaction of charged particles with gases in gas ionization chambers is primarily governed by inelastic collisions with the electrons outside the nucleus of gas atoms or molecules. This leads to ionization or excitation of the gas atoms or molecules, which constitutes the main mode of energy loss. The relationship between specific ionization losses and various parameters can be described by the Bethe-Bloch equation (Eq. 6) [
13].
Tmax: maximum energy transfer in a single collision NA: Avogadro's constant
z: incident particle charge me: electron mass
Z: atomic number of the medium's atoms β: particle velocity/c
A: atomic number of the medium atom γ: (1-β2)-2
δ: Correction for density
effects dx: mass thickness
1, the ionisation loss is independent of the mass of the incident particle, particles with the same charge and speed have the same ionisation loss in the same substance.
2. Ionisation loss is proportional to the square of the charge of the incident particle
3. At non-relativistic velocities, ionisation losses are inversely proportional to the velocity squared.
Under the influence of the following parameters: initial velocity V
0 in the x-direction, and different electric field strengths E (a is the acceleration of the particle under the strength of E), the energy loss of the same particle has the following formula:
S is the distance between the plates, and constant , the integration object is the particle in the distance between the plates forward
is the arrival time at the pole plate
reduced fraction
on account of
the reason why
As can be seen from Equation 14, the energy loss decreases with an increase in the voltage between the pole plates and with a higher initial velocity of the particles. Among these factors, the impact of the voltage change between the pole plates is significant, and the fitting of the relationship between them will be discussed later.