1985 Volume 34 Issue 9 Pages 467-472
Commercially available zener diodes have been tested for applying them to dosimetry of cobalt-60 γ-rays. The response observed, i.e. the relation between irradiated dose and radiation-induced change in the breakdown voltage of the zener diode, have shown good linearity under the conditions: (1) The diode is kept below 50°C during irradiation. (2) Measurement of the change in the breakdown voltage were made at the liquid-nitrogen temperature. A typical diode of Toshiba 05Z18 has been found to be useful for measuring irradiation doses between 15.48 kC/kg (6×107R) and 2.58 MC/kg (1×1010R) with a fading less than 10% till 1000 hours after irradiation. This method of dosimetry has been applied to the measurement of the spatial distributions of γ rays inside a basket-type cobalt-60 source, and reasonable results have been obtained. It can be concluded from the present experiment that the radiationinduced change in the breakdown voltage of the zener diode offers a convenient and inexpensive method of radiation dosimetry.
