US5149971A — Scintillator assembly for alpha radiation detecti…

Claim 1

Independent Claim 102 words

A scintillator assembly for use in the detection of alpha radiation comprising: an optically transparent body having a front surface against which alpha particles desired to be detected impinge, said body having a phosphor layer embedded within the front surface; a thin layer of opaque material disposed directly upon the embedded phosphor in the front surface for preventing ambient visible light from entering the body through the front surface; and a layer of protective material, which is transparent to alpha particles moving through the protective material layer, disposed directly upon the opaque material layer to provide the assembly with a damage-resistant window.

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 102 words

A scintillator assembly for use in the detection of alpha radiation comprising: an optically transparent body having a front surface against which alpha particles desired to be detected impinge, said body having a phosphor layer embedded within the front surface; a thin layer of opaque material disposed directly upon the embedded phosphor in the front surface for preventing ambient visible light from entering the body through the front surface; and a layer of protective material, which is transparent to alpha particles moving through the protective material layer, disposed directly upon the opaque material layer to provide the assembly with a damage-resistant window.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 12 words

The assembly of claim 1 wherein the phosphor is silver-activated zinc sulfide.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 25 words

The assembly of claim 2 wherein the silver-activated zinc sulfide is in a powder and is uniformly distributed across the front surface of the body.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 21 words

The assembly of claim 1 wherein the opaque material is chosen from the group consisting of aluminum and an opaque dye.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 23 words

The assembly of claim 4 wherein the opaque material is aluminum and the thickness of the opaque material layer is about 8000 angstroms.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 24 words

The assembly of claim 1 wherein the protective material is chosen from a group consisting of cyanoacrylate, a polyamide, a plastic and an epoxy.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 28 words

The assembly of claim 1 wherein said body has a back surface opposite the front surface and said assembly further includes a light-pipe coupled to the back surface.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 13 words

The assembly of claim 7 wherein said light-pipe is comprised of methyl methacrylate.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 135 words

In an instrument for the detection of alpha radiation including a phosphor material with which alpha particles interact to create photons and a photomultiplier tube onto which the created photons are guided, the improvement comprising: a scintillator assembly positioned in front of a photomultiplier tube including a) an optically transparent body having a front surface against which alpha particles desired to be detected impinge, said body having the phosphor material embedded within the front surface, b) a thin layer of opaque material coating the front surface and contacting the phosphor material for preventing the front surface from being struck by ambient light ;and c) a layer of protective material which is transparent to alpha particles moving through the protective material layer coating the opaque material layer to provide the assembly with a damage-resistant entrance window.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 135 words

In an instrument for the detection of alpha radiation including a phosphor material with which alpha particles interact to create photons and a photomultiplier tube onto which the created photons are guided, the improvement comprising: a scintillator assembly positioned in front of a photomultiplier tube including a) an optically transparent body having a front surface against which alpha particles desired to be detected impinge, said body having the phosphor material embedded within the front surface, b) a thin layer of opaque material coating the front surface and contacting the phosphor material for preventing the front surface from being struck by ambient light ;and c) a layer of protective material which is transparent to alpha particles moving through the protective material layer coating the opaque material layer to provide the assembly with a damage-resistant entrance window.

Claim 12

Dependent Claim 12 words

The improvement of claim 9 wherein the phosphor is silver-activated zinc sulfide.

Claim 13

Dependent Claim 21 words

The improvement of claim 9 wherein the opaque material is chosen from the group consisting of aluminum and an opaque dye.

Claim 14

Dependent Claim 37 words

The improvement of claim 9 wherein said body has a back surface opposite the front surface and the improvement further comprises a methyl methacrylate light-pipe interposed between the back surface of the body and the photomultiplier tube.

Claim 15

Independent Claim 136 words

A method of making a component for generating photons upon the interaction with alpha particles in an instrument for use in the detection of alpha radiation comprising the steps of: providing a mold having an interior having a smooth bottom surface; providing an amount of phosphor in particle form; providing an amount of optically-transparent medium in an uncured condition wherein the optically-transparent medium has a low viscosity when in its uncured condition and is curable to a hardened condition; mixing the amount of phosphor with the uncured amount of optically-transparent medium to uniformly distribute the phosphor in the medium; placing the resulting phosphor/medium mixture within the mold; permitting the amount of phosphor to settle within the optically-transparent medium to the bottom surface of the mold; permitting the phosphor/medium mixture to cure to form a hardened body.

Claim 16

Independent Claim 136 words

A method of making a component for generating photons upon the interaction with alpha particles in an instrument for use in the detection of alpha radiation comprising the steps of: providing a mold having an interior having a smooth bottom surface; providing an amount of phosphor in particle form; providing an amount of optically-transparent medium in an uncured condition wherein the optically-transparent medium has a low viscosity when in its uncured condition and is curable to a hardened condition; mixing the amount of phosphor with the uncured amount of optically-transparent medium to uniformly distribute the phosphor in the medium; placing the resulting phosphor/medium mixture within the mold; permitting the amount of phosphor to settle within the optically-transparent medium to the bottom surface of the mold; permitting the phosphor/medium mixture to cure to form a hardened body.

Claim 17

Dependent Claim 73 words

The method of claim 13 wherein the step of placing is preceded by a step of coating the bottom surface of the mold with a layer of opaque material of the type with which the surface of the hardened body is coated so that upon removing the hardened body from the mold, the opaque material adheres to the phosphor settled in the surface of the hardened body which cured against the bottom surface.

Claim 18

Dependent Claim 22 words

The method of claim 14 including the steps of coating the opaque material adhering to the phosphor with a damage resistant material.

Claim 19

Dependent Claim 67 words

The method of claim 13 wherein said step of permitting the phosphor/medium mixture to cure provides the hardened body with a relatively flat surface opposite the surface which cured against the bottom surface of the mold and is followed by the steps of: providing a light-pipe having a flat surface; and optically attaching the flat surface of the light-pipe to said flat surface of the hardened body.

Claim 20

Dependent Claim 88 words

The method as defined in claim 13 wherein the step of permitting the phosphor/medium mixture to cure is followed by the steps of: removing the hardened body from the mold; coating the surface of the hardened body which cured against the bottom surface of the mold with a relatively thin layer of opaque material to prevent ambient light from entering the body through the body surface; and coating the layer of opaque material with a layer of protective material to provide the assembly with a damage-resistant entrance window.

Claim 21

Dependent Claim 26 words

The method of claim 17 wherein the step of coating the surface of the hardened body with an opaque material is effected by an evaporation process.

Claim 22

Dependent Claim 27 words

The method of claim 17 wherein the step of coating the layer of opaque material with a layer of protective material is effected by a spin-coating process.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	1995-09-22	1996-03-23	1996-09-22	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	1999-09-22	2000-03-23	2000-09-22	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	2003-09-22	2004-03-23	2004-09-22	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Scintillator assembly for alpha radiation detection and method of making the assembly

Abstract

Inventors

Bibliographic Details

Claims Analysis

References Cited (Backward Citations)

USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows

Assigned Categories & Tags

Assign Category Tag