The Application of Micropatterned Devices for Radiation Protection Dosimetry and Monitoring

Over the past decade there has been a growing interest in the application of a class of gaseous radiation detectors, known generally as micropatterned devices, for radiation protection dosimetry and monitoring. The purpose of this paper is to review the features of micropatterned devices that make them of particular interest and to report on some of the successful applications in radiation protection dosimetry and monitoring of instruments based on these detectors.

Micropatterned devices, originally developed within the high-energy physics research community, are of several different types and design. The principal devices that have found application in radiation protection measurement science are gas microstrip detectors, gas electron multipliers, and micromesh gaseous structures. The operation of these devices will be reviewed along with modifications that have been carried out to make them suitable for radiation monitoring and microdosimetry.