Ultrawide-range radiation detection based on dynamic identification and analysis of the response of a monolithic active pixel sensor

In this paper, we present an ultrawide-range radiation detection method based on dynamic recognition and analysis of the response signal of a monolithic active pixel sensor (MAPS). Our analysis of the MAPS response mechanism determined that adaptive adjustment of the sensor’s integral time is key to quantification of ionizing radiation in an ultrawide range. We also determined that different data processing methods are required for accurate quantification of high and low radiation dose rates. The results of experiments conducted after calibration demonstrate that our technique is capable of radiation detection across five orders of magnitude (ranging from milligrays per hour to hundreds of grays per hour), with errors of less than 5%. Chip-based nuclear radiation detection can be realized using our technique, enabling MAPS to be used as a supplement to traditional detectors in characterization of unknown and complex radiation environments.