CONTENTS

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2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
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11.
12.
13.
14.

Abstract
Introduction & Objectives
Theory
Gas filled detector
G.M. counter
Fill gases and quenching
Geiger counter dead time
Geiger counter plateau
Geiger counter counting efficiency
Attenuation theory
Dead Time Measurements
Equipment List
Experiments
Conclusions & summery

Abstract
In this lab we used the Geiger counter to take counts of
dierent radiation sources. From these counts, we observed
the pulse height against the ionization type and energy, pulse
height and counting curve against high voltage, beta
attenuation coecients by measuring counts through plates
of aluminium, and Geiger counter dead times by measuring
them from the oscilloscope as well as calculating them using
the two-source method. In experiment one, we saw that using
dierent sources of radiation, we saw no real dierence in the
pulse heights from the Geiger counter. Due to equipment
error, we were unable to draw any substantial conclusions
about how the counting curve and pulse height relates to the
high voltage level from the experimental data in experiment
two. In experiment three, we calculated a mass- attenuation
coecient of 257.6978 cm2 g for -particles in aluminium.
This number agreed with the number that had already been
calculated through independent experiments. In experiment
four, a dead time of 376.0 s and a recovery time of 1.03 ms
were measured from the oscilloscope. Using the two-source
method we calculated a dead time of 277.379 s. We see
much agreement between these values. Throughout the
entire experiment we observed much agreement between the
theory and experiment.

Introduction & Objectives

A Geiger counter (Geiger-Muller tube) is a device used for the
detection and measurement of all types of radiation: alpha, beta and
gamma radiation. Basically it consists of a pair of electrodes
surrounded by a gas. The electrodes have a high voltage across them.
The gas used is usually Helium or Argon. When radiation enters the
tube it can ionize the gas. The ions (and electrons) are attracted to the
electrodes and an electric current is produced. A scalar counts the
current pulses, and one obtains a count whenever radiation ionizes
the gas. The apparatus consists of two parts, the tube and the (counter
+ power supply). The Geiger-Mueller tube is usually cylindrical, with a
wire down the centre. The (counter + power supply) have voltage
controls and timer options. A high voltage is established across the
cylinder and the wire as shown on the page of gures. When ionizing
radiation such as an alpha, beta or gamma particle enters the tube, it
can ionize some of the gas molecules in the tube. From these ionized
atoms, an electron is knocked out of the atom, and the remaining
atom is positively charged. The high voltage in the tube produces an
electric eld inside the tube. The electrons that were knocked out of
the atom are attracted to the positive electrode, and the positively
charged ions are attracted to the negative electrode. This produces a
pulse of current in the wires connecting the electrodes, and this pulse
is counted. After the pulse is counted, the charged ions become
neutralized, and the Geiger counter is ready to record another pulse.
In order for the Geiger counter tube to restore itself quickly to its
original state after radiation has entered, a gas is added to the tube.
For proper use of the Geiger counter, one must have the appropriate
voltage across the electrodes. If the voltage is too low, the electric
eld in the tube is too weak to cause a current pulse. If the voltage is
too high, the tube will undergo continuous discharge, and the tube
can be damaged. Usually the manufacture recommends the correct

voltage to use for the tube. Larger tubes require larger voltages to
produce the necessary electric elds inside the tube. In class we will
do an experiment to determine the proper operating voltage. First we
will place a radioactive isotope in from of the Geiger-Mueller tube.
Then, we will slowly vary the voltage across the tube and measure the
counting rate. On the gures page is a graph of what we might expect
to see when the voltage is increased across the tube. For low voltages,
no counts are recorded. This is because the electric eld is too weak
for even one pulse to be recorded. As the voltage is increased,
eventually one obtains a counting rate. The voltage at which the G-M
tube just begins to count is called the starting potential. The counting
rate quickly rises as the voltage is increased. For our equipment, the
rise is so fast, that the graph looks like a step

Potential. After the quick rise, the counting rate levels o. This range of voltages
is termed the plateau region. Eventually, the voltage becomes too high and
we have continuous discharge. The threshold voltage is the voltage where the
plateau region begins. Proper operation is when the voltage is in the plateau
region of the curve. For best operation, the voltage should be selected fairly
close to the threshold voltage, and within the rst 1/4 of the way into the

plateau region. A rule we follow with the G-M tubes in our lab is the following:
for the larger tubes to set the operating voltage about 75 Volts above the
starting potential; for the smaller tubes to set the operating voltage about 50
volts above the starting potential. In the plateau region the graph of counting
rate vs. voltage is in general not completely at. The plateau is not a perfect
plateau. In fact, the slope of the curve in the plateau region is a measure of the
quality of the G-M tube. For a good G-M tube, the plateau region should rise at
a rate less than 10 percent per 100 volts. That is, for a change of 100 volts,
(counting rate)/(average counting rate) should be less than 0.1. An excellent
tube could have the plateau slope as low as 3 percent per 100 volts.

Theory
Gas Filled Detector
Gas-lled detectors, like other proportional counters, use gas multiplication to
signicantly increase the charge represented by the ion pairs created by the
ionizing radiation.
With the proportional counter, each electron creates an avalanche that is
independent of all other avalanches in the detector. All of these avalanches are
nearly identical, therefore the collected charge is proportional to the number of
original electrons.
Inside of a gas counter, the electric eld causes to the electrons and the ions to
drift to their respective sides of the collector. While these electrons and ions are
drifting, collide with each other. There is very little average energy that is gained
by the ions because of their low mobility in the electric eld. Free electrons, on
the other hand, have the ability to have great amounts of energy inside the
electric eld. It an electron has enough energy, it is energetically possible for
another ion pair to be created from the collision of an electron and a neutral gas
molecule. There is a certain level of electric eld strength that will always allow
this result from the collision. This free electron will then be accelerated by the
electric eld to higher kinetic energies and then has the potential to create even

more ionization inside the tube. This process of gas multiplication forms a
cascade and is known as a Townsend Avalanche.

Geiger-Mueller Counter
The G-M counter works slightly dierent than these other proportional
counters. Inside of the actual gas chamber, strong electric elds are created to
enhance the avalanche intensity.

Figure 1: The dierent

regions of operation of gas-lled detectors. The observed pulse amplitude is plotted for events depositing two
dierence amounts of energy within the gas.[1]

In the G-M tube, these avalanches can cause more avalanches at a dierent
position in the tube. At a certain level of electric eld amplitude, the avalanches
can cause an average of at least one more avalanche in the G-M tube. The
signicance of this is a self-propagated
Chain reaction of avalanches resulting inside the tube. This process is known as
the Geiger Discharge. Figure 2 diagrammatically depicts how the Geiger
discharge is triggered inside the tube. Once the magnitude of this Geiger

Discharge reaches a certain size, all of the avalanches eect each other in such
a way that all of the avalanches are terminated. This avalanche limiting point
always contains the same amount of avalanches, therefore all pulses that are
measure from a Geiger tube have the same amplitude. In gure 1, it is shown
that the Geiger counter only sees the same pulse for the two dierent energies.
This is important due to that fact that a Geiger counter can only be used to
detect or count radiation and nothing more.

Figure 2: The manner in which additional avalanches are triggered in a Geiger discharge.

Fill Gasses & Quenching

Because of the fact that the Geiger counter is based on positive ions that will be
formed inside of the tube, gases that form negative ions, such as oxygen, should
be avoided at all costs. Usually noble gases are used as the main component in
the Geiger counter. There is a mixture of two gases in this chamber, however,
to allow for quenching.
As radiation enters the detector it ionizes the gas inside the chamber. These ions
drift away from the anode wire after the termination of a Geiger discharge.
When these ions drift out to the cathode wall, they are neutralized by combining
with an electron from the cathode surface. The amount of energy that is
liberated in this process is equal to the ionization energy of the gas minus the
energy it takes to remove an electron from the cathode surface. The energy to

remove an electron from the cathode surface is known as the work function. In
situations where the liberated energy is greater than the cathode work function,
it is en- heretically possible to liberate more than one electron. This happens
when the energy of the ionized gas particle is twice the magnitude of the work
function. This is a signicant issue that needs to be addressed as the free
electron can drift into the anode and trigger another Geiger discharge which
would pen ultimately cause the liberation of more free electrons and ultimately
cause the Geiger counter to produce a continuous output of pulses.
In order to deal with this, a second gas, known as the quench gas, is added to
the Geiger chamber in addition to the main gas. This gas is chosen to have an
ionization potential that is lower than and a more complex structure then the
main gas. Typically, concentrations of 5 10% are present inside the counter.
The positive ions created from incident radiation are mostly the primary gas in
the chamber. As these ions drift to the cathode wall, they interact with the
quench gas and will transfer their charge due to the dierence in ionization
energies. The goal here is to have the quench gas bring the positive charge to
the cathode wall. This is desirable because the excess energy will go into the
disassociation of the quench gas molecule instead of liberating another electron.
Ethyl alcohol and ethyl format have been popular choices for quench gas inside
modern Geiger counters. Also, Halogens are a popular choice because they are
a self-replenishing gas. It should be noted that organic quench gases lead to
closer to a plateau slope of zero, where inorganic quench gases lead to larger
slopes on the plateau.

Figure 3: The equivalent circuit of a G-M tube.

There is another form of quenching known as external quenching. In this

method, the resistance of R in Figure 3 is made to be quite large (on the
magnitude of 108 ohms). The disadvantage is that it takes extra time for the

anode to return to its normal voltage. Because of this, external quenching is only
ecient at low counting rates.

Geiger counter Dead Time

The Geiger counter has an unusually large dead time. Right after a Geiger
discharge, the electric eld is reduced below the critical level to trigger chain
avalanches. The time that it takes the Geiger counter to build the electric eld
back up to the critical level is known as the dead time. This is because the
counter is dead during this time and will not detect any ionizing radiation. This
is depicted diagrammatically in Figure 4. This time is on the order of 50 100 s
in most modern Geiger counters.

Figure 4: Illustration of the dead time of a G-M tube. Pulses of negative polarity conventionally observed from
the detector are show.

An interesting phenomenon occurs right after the dead time. At this time, the
electric eld is at the critical point that it allows the counter to detect ionizing
radiation, but the electric eld is not built all the way back up to the magnitude
that it was at. The time that it takes the Geiger counter to build the electric eld
back up to full strength after a full Geiger discharge1 is known as the recovery
time. If a radiation event is detected at a time after dead time but before the
recovery time, the Geiger counter will produce a pulse, but this pulse will be
smaller in amplitude than a pulse created from a full Geiger discharge. This time
is also graphically depicted in Figure 4.

Geiger Counting Plateau

When setting up the Geiger counter, it should be connected to a high voltage
source. For a Geiger counter, we know that the voltage that it is set to will
determine the amount of radiation that it can detect. If the voltage is too low,
there will not be enough potential to create an Geiger discharges. If the voltage
is too high, the Geiger counter will enter a state of continuous discharge. There
is a region of voltage that is the ideal voltage to set the Geiger counter to. This
region is called the plateau.
As can be seen in Figure 5(a), there is a specic voltage at which the Geiger
counter starts to register counts. This is called the starting voltage. The knee,
the region where the curve transition from the initial rise into the plateau, can
also be seen in Figure 5(a). When the voltage goes higher than the range of the
plateau, then the counter enters the region of continuous discharge, as can be
seen in Figure 5(b).

Figure 5: (a) The counting curve for G-M

counter around 1000-1200 V. (b) The dierential pulse height spectrum and the counting curve of the G-M counter.

While the ideal plateau is one with zero slope, this is never the case in practice.
Regions where the electric eld has a lower strength than usual, such as the ends
of the tube, the discharges may be smaller than normal. This will add a lowamplitude tail to the dierential pulse height distribution and can be a
contributing cause to the nonzero slope in the plateau. Also, pulses that occur
during the recovery time will be smaller than normal as well and will also
contribute to the slope of the plateau.
It is ideal to have the voltage set within the counting curve plateau when taking
measure- mints with the Geiger counter. When inside this range, small
uctuations in voltage will not signicantly alter measurements and will provide
accurate data. It is ideal to keep the voltage at the lower end of the plateau
range, just above and out of the way of the knee, to increase counter life.

Geiger counter Counting Eciency

Because of the way the Geiger counter is set up, it deals with detecting dierent
types of particles in dierent ways. There are three types of particles to
consider: charged particles, neutrons, and gamma rays.
The Geiger counter excels are counting charged particles. This is because these
particles ionize the gas in the G-M tube and these ion pairs are what cause the
Geiger discharge in the tube. Essentially, the eciency at which the Geiger
counter counts charged particles is 100%.
The Geiger counter is not a good device for counting neutrons. The gases that
are usually used in Geiger counters have extremely low cross sections for
thermal neutrons. The gas could be replaced with one that is better at capturing
thermal neutrons, but the detector could be operated in the proportional region
and then the dierence between neutrons and gamma rays could be
distinguished. Fast neutrons produce ion pairs that the Geiger counter will easily
respond to. Proportional counters are usually tasked with this job instead of
Geiger counters due to their ability to provide spectroscopic information.
The Geiger counters ability to detect gamma rays is contingent on the gamma
ray interacting with the solid wall of the counter. Such is the way for any gaslled counter. A secondary electron is produced if the interaction takes place

close to the inner wall. This secondary electron is ionizing and the Geiger counter
will easily detect it. The eciency for counting these gamma-rays depends on
two factors: the probability that the incident gamma will interact with the solid
wall and produce a secondary electron, and the probability that the secondary
electron reaches the ll gas of the tube before it reaches the end of its track.
Only the innermost layer wall can produce the secondary electrons required to
detect the gamma, as shown in Figure 6. To increase the probability that a
gamma-ray will interact with the solid wall, the atomic number of the wall
should be increased. With an atomic number of 83, bismuth has been the classic
material to build cathodes with for many years. The counting eciency of low
energy gamma-rays and X-rays is increased by using a gas with an atomic
number and a pressure as high as possible. Xenon and krypton are popular for
these situations and often result in counting eciencies close to 100%.
The eciency of a detector is given by the ratio of the
(number of particles of radiation detected)/(number of particles of radiation
emitted):

number of particles of radiation detected number of particles of radiation

emitted
(1)
This denition for the eciency of a detector is also used for our other
detectors. In class we will measure the eciency of our Geiger counter system
and nd that it is quite small. The reason that the eciency is small for a G-M
tube is that a gas is used to absorb the energy. A gas is not very dense, so most
of the radiation passes right through the tube. Unless alpha particles are very
energetic, they will be absorbed in the cylinder that encloses the gas and never
even make it into the G-M tube. If beta particles enter the tube they have the
best chance to cause ionization. Gamma particles themselves have a very small
chance of ionizing the gas in the tube. Gamma particles are detected when they
scatter an electron in the metal cylinder around the gas into the tube. So
although the Geiger counter can detect all three types of radiation, it is most
ecient for beta particles and not very ecient for gamma particles. Our
scintillation detectors will prove to be much more ecient for detecting specic
radiation.

Some of the advantages of using a Geiger counter are:

a) They are relatively inexpensive
b) They are durable and easily portable
c) They can detect all types of radiation
Some of the disadvantages of using a Geiger counter are:
a) They cannot dierentiate which type of radiation is being detected.
b) They cannot be used to determine the exact energy of the detected radiation.
c) They have a very low eciency.

Attenuation Theory
The linear attenuation coecient, , is the xed probability per unit path length
that a gamma-ray will interact with its surroundings. The number of transmitted
photons, I, can be described in terms of the number without an absorber 0 as

(1)

Another important quantity is the mean free path, . That is the average
distance that a photon will travel through an absorber before the photon
interacts. It should be noted that the mean free path is the inverse of the linear
attenuation coecient.
=

(2)

The linear attenuation coecient varies with the density of the absorber, even
though the absorber material is the same. Because of this, a need for a mass
attenuation coecient is prevalent. The mass attenuation coecient is dened
as
=

(3)

Where is the density of the medium.

Using the denition of the mass attenuation coecient, Eq. 1 takes on the form

=
0

We dene the product t as the mass thickness of the absorber. This product
has units of mg/cm2. This mass thickness is a signicant parameter that
determines the absorbers degree of attenuation.

Dead Time Measurements

After a count has been recorded, it takes the G-M tube a certain amount of time
to reset itself to be ready to record the next count. The resolving time or dead
time, T, of a detector is the time it takes for the detector to reset itself. Since
the detector is not operating while it is being reset, the measured activity is
not the true activity of the sample. If the counting rate is high, then the eect of
dead time is very important. We will rst discuss how to correct for dead time,
and then discuss how one can measure what it is.
Correcting for the Resolving time:
We dene the following variables:
T = the resolving time or dead time of the detector
= the real time that the detector is operating. This is the actual time that the
detector is on. It is our counting time. Does not depend on the dead time of
the detector, but on how long we actually record counts.
= the live time that the detector is operating. This is the time that the detector
is able to record counts. Depends on the dead time of the detector.
C = the total number of counts that we record.
n = the measured counting rate, n = C/
N = the true counting rate, N = C/
Note that the ratio n/N is equal to:

C/
C/

(2)

This means that the fraction of the counts that we record is the ratio of the live
time to the real time. This ratio is the fraction of the time that the detector is
able to record counts. The key relationship we need is between the real time,
live time, and dead time. To a good approximation, the live time is equal to the
real time minus C times the dead time T:
=

(3)

This is true since CT is the total time that the detector is unable to record counts
during the counting time . We can solve for N in terms of n and T by combining
the two equations above. First divide the second equation by :

=1
= 1

(4)

From the rst equation, we see that the left side is equal to n/N:

= 1

(5)

Solving for N, we obtain the equation:

=

(6)

This is the equation we need to determine the true counting rate from the
measured one. Notice that N is always larger than n. Also note that the product
nT is the key parameter in determining by how much the true counting rate
increases from the measured counting rate. For small values of nT, the product
nT (unit less) is the fractional increase that N is of n. For values of nT < 0.01 dead
time is not important, and are less than a 1% eect. Dead time changes the
measured value for the counting rate by 5% when nT = 0.05. The product nT is
small when either the counting rate n is small, or the dead time T is small.

Measuring the Resolving Time

We can get an estimate of the resolving time of our detector by performing the
following measurement. First we determine the counting rate with one source
alone, call this counting rate n1. Then we add a second source next to the rst
one and determine the counting rate with both sources together. Call this
counting rate n12. Finally, we take away source 1 and measure the counting rate
with source 2 alone. We call this counting rate n2.
You might think that the measured counting times n12 should equal n1 plus n2.
If there were no dead time this would be true. However, with dead time, n12 is
less than the sum of n1 + n2. This is because with both sources present the
detector is dead more often than when the sources are being counted alone.
The true counting times do add up:
12 = 1 + 2

(7)

Since these are the counting rates corrected for dead time. Substituting the
expressions for the measured counting times into the above equation gives:
12
1
2
=
+
1 12 1 1 1 2

(8)

An approximate solution to these equations is given by

1 + 2 12
1 2

(9)

In our laboratory we will measure n1, n2, and n12 and used the formula above
to get an approximate value for the dead time of the Geiger counter. It is dicult
to get a precise value for T. one needs to be very careful that the positions of
source 1 and 2 with respect to the detector alone is the same as the positions of
these sources when they are measured together. Also, since n12 is not much
smaller than n1 + n2, one needs to measure all three quantities very accurately.
For this one needs many counts, since the relative statistical error equals. For
sucient accuracy one needs to use an active source for a long time. The values
that we usually obtain in our experiments range from 100 to 500sec. The dead
time of the G-M tube is also available from the manufacturer, and are between
100 and 300sec. As the G-M tube is used, the dead time can increase.

Equipment List
Throughout the course of these experiments, the following equipment was used
in the lab:
Hewlett-Packard 54610 B Oscilloscope
Tennelec TC 952A High Voltage Supply
Ortec Dual Counter/Timer 994
Ortec Amplier 572
Pre-amplier
TGM Detectors N210-1 Geiger-Mueller tube
Lead Chamber housing G-M tube
RG58u Polyethylene Coaxial Cable

Experiment 1: Pulse Height vs. Ionization

Type and Energy
Setup & Procedure
To begin this experiment, the G-M tube was connected into one of the pre-amp
inputs. The pre-amp was also taking input from the high voltage supply. The pre-

amp output was connected directly to the oscilloscope. We used coaxial cable
to make all connections.
Next, we would place our beta source in the G-M chamber. All of our samples
were placed on the 5th shelf from the bottom. The high voltage was increased
until the pulses of around 50 mV were showing up on the oscilloscope. This
voltage we set the high voltage supply at was 645 V. From here, measurements
of the pulse heights of various beta sources were made. The same was done for
the gamma side of each beta source as well. Recall that we dont expect all of
our sources to emit gammas. See Appendices F through I for decay schemes of
the radiation sources used.
Results & Analysis
The rst thing that we did with our data2, was merely to observe it in this
section. We were attempting to determine how the pulse height depends on the
amount of ionization initiating the discharge. Figure 7 shows the amplitudes for
the beta sides of various radiation sources. While we see some statistical
uctuation in these pulse heights, they are very close to one another. There is a
far greater uctuation in the decay energies of the sources then there is in the
measured pulse heights. From this, we can determine that the amount of
ionization that initiates the radiation event is independent of the pulse height of
the Geiger counter.
We know that if a radiation event is detected after the dead time but before
the end of the recovery time, the pulse height will have a smaller amplitude than
usual. This will also attribute to some of the uctuations in the pulse heights that
we saw.
Furthermore, the randomness of the quench gas molecules in the G-M tube can
eect the distribution of pulse heights, albeit very slightly. The clustering of
positive heavy ions inside the tube that ultimately terminate the avalanching
eect can cause a delay in them doing so. This would result in slightly larger
pulse heights.
Upon looking at the decay schemes of the dierent sources that were used in
this experiment, we do not expect gammas to be emitted from each of the
sources, but we do expect them to be emitted from some.

We used the following sources:

60Co
36Cl
14C
90Sr
Of these sources, only the 60Co emits gamma-rays. It emits two distinct gammas
of 1.17 MeV and 1.33 MeV.
We are still detecting radiation when we ip the sources over to their gamma
emitting side, even though the sources do not emit any gamma radiation. This
can be explained by attenuation. The radiation detected from the gamma side
of any of the sources (except 90Sr) is a -particle that has been attenuated
(passed through) the back of the source casing. This doesnt eect the measured
pulse heights, but it explains why some of the sources were very dicult to
obtain radiation measurements for the gamma side.
It requires some amount of energy to pass through a medium without
interacting. We notice that we were unable to detect any radiation from the
gamma side of the 14C source. 14C emits -particles with the lowest amount of

energy. Therefore, we assume that the energy is low enough that 14C -particles
do not have enough energy to pass through the backside of the source casing.

Conclusions & summery

Throughout the course of this lab, we have become intimately acquainted with
our Geiger counter. We closely analysed many of the characteristics of the
Geiger counter to see if they were indeed in agreement with the theory. We
proved that the pulse height from the Geiger counter is indeed independent
from the radiation that is detected. We attempted to analyse the counting curve
characteristics of the Geiger counter, but due to equipment failure we were
forced to merely speculate what we believed would happen based on theory.
We calculated a mass-attenuation coecient for -particles based on
measurements that we made in the laboratory. This value appeared to be on
the same order of magnitude as the actual value. Finally, we also took a close
look at the abnormally large dead time that a Geiger counter has. Using two
dierent methods, we calculated this value and found agreement between
them. In all, with the Geiger counter know-how acquired in this lab, I know am
able to command the vast power that the Geiger counter has to oer.