Standoff alpha radiation detection via excited state absorption of air

Abstract

A standoff alpha radiation detection technique based on the physical mechanism of excited state absorption of air molecules was explored and is presented in this paper. Instead of directly detecting the radiation via measuring the intensity of radiation induced air fluorescence, the radiation is detected via the excited state absorption of alpha radiation excited/ionized air molecules. Both theoretical analyses and experimental verifications were conducted. The experimental results confirmed that the radiation could be detected via excited state absorption of radiation excited/ionized air molecules at a 10 m standoff distance, which was consistent with the theoretical analyses.