Remote quasi-distributed ionising radiation monitoring in nuclear facilities
The use of fiber optic sensors for the detection and monitoring of ionizing radiation has become quite popular in recent years, outstripping the classic sensors, both optical and electronic, due to a number of advantages such as small size and weight, multiplexing capabilities, immunity to electromagnetic interferences, stability, etc. These advantages have made them especially suitable in dosimetry and brachytherapy inside oncology areas in hospitals, nuclear waste containers and nuclear power plants facilities monitoring, sterilization and industrial applications, etc. A further interesting feature is their ability to be deployed over large areas, which permit monitor different locations simultaneously with easy handling systems. This feature makes these sensors especially suitable for environmental and border monitoring. A current choice when using optical fiber sensors is the use of fluorescence techniques, in which inorganic scintillators are used as transducers between ionizing radiation and visible one.