The maximum allowable dose is limited to 20 mSv per year for

people working with radiation. This limit is 1 mSv for the normal
population. The effects of irradiation on an organism may change
according to the dose, the type of contamination, and the features of
the radiation source. It is crucial to perform measurements on the
radiation generators used for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes. The
measurement of radiation is called dosimetry, and the equipment used
for dosimetric procedures is called a dosimeter or a detector
1. Detectors according to the principle of operation:
(a) Pulse type
(b) Current type
2. Detectors according to their structures:
(a) Gas-filled detectors:
Ionization chambers
Proportional detectors (with or without a window)
GeigerMller detectors (with or without a window)
Gas scintillation detectors
(b) Solid-state detectors:
Crystal detectors
Scintillation detectors
Semiconductive detectors
Plastic detectors (solid or liquid)
Glass detectors
3. Film detectors
4. Dosimeters:
(a) Electron spin resonance (ESR)/alanine
(b) Thermoluminescence (TLD)
5. Chemical detectors
6. Neutron detectors
Portable Measuring Equipment
The basic principle of a portable measuring device is ionization inside
a gas-filled detector. Radiation creates ion pairs, and these ion pairs
are collected and converted into an electrical signal (impulse or
current) when they pass through an electrical field. This signal is used
to determine whether and how much radiation is present.

There are several types of detector, and they all work on the same
principle. Ion chambers and GeigerMller counters are the two main
types of measuring instrument.
Thermoluminescence dosimeters (TLD) : Thermoluminescence is
the phenomenon where a material luminesces (emits significant
amounts of lightglows) when it is heated. In a solid crystalline
material, there is forbidden energy zone between the valance band and
conduction band where no electron can exist. Crystals that exhibit this
phenomenon include LiB4O7, LiF, and CaSO4,and these are used in
TLDs.
TLDs can separately measure gammas, X-rays, beta particles and
thermal neutrons with energies of between 10 keV and 10 MeV

Thermo-luminescence is a thermally stimulated emission of light

following the storage of radiation-induced excitation in a crystalline
lattice. This is achieved in some materials, such as alkali halides,
having crystal imperfections which produce electron states in the
otherwise forbidden energy gap. These defect states are present in the
natural form of some materials and they can also be produced by the
deliberate doping of certain crystals.
Since the TL technique is so sensitive to the properties of these interband states, the unwanted introduction of strains and other
contamination into the lattice can impair and sometimes even destroy
the TL effects.
The sequence of events in is as follows :

1.The excitation of an electron from the valence band into the

conduction band, as a result of the absorption of energy from ionizing
radiation, is followed by the migration of the electron in the
conduction band and the hole (with a much lower mobility) in the
valence band.
2.Trapping of both can take place in a lattice which contains defects.
3.The application of heat drives the electron back into the conduction
band, where it can again migrate freely until it encounters a hole state.
4.Recombination then takes place with the emission of an optical
photon.
In the application of heat, the emission of optical photons is detected
by a sensitive photomultiplier. This produces a pulse-height spectrum,
called a glow-curve, which is characteristic of the TL material and
also reflects the following :
the type of radiation,
the glow-curve heating rate.
the concentration and nature of the electron traps,
the intensity of the radiation,
any pre-irradiation and annealing history,
As temperature increases, electrons can be excited into the conduction
band from electron states (traps) which lie deeper and deeper below
the bottom of the conduction band. The glow curves tend to consist of
one main component preceded at lower temperatures by one or more
smaller peaks. The lower temperature peaks correspond to shallow
electron traps which tend to have a weak correlation with exposure.
Read-out does not therefore begin until these shallow traps have been
emptied.