Development of Thick Film Integrated Circuit for Nuclear Radiation Measurement

Most existing nuclear radiation measurement circuits are implemented based on PCB board-level technology, which has low integration, significant signal loss, and is susceptible to environmental interference, thus preventing the achievement of high-precision measurements in complex radiation fields. Consequently, this paper presents research on thick-film integrated circuits for nuclear radiation measurement. Resistors, capacitors, wires, and the interconnections of devices, are fabricated on an Al2O3 ceramic substrate through a combination of film-forming and surfacemount technologies. A thick-film integrated circuit has been developed for the pre-amplification, filtering, and peak holding of nuclear radiation detectors. This circuit offers advantages such as high integration, minimal parasitic effects, radiation resistance, and robust anti-interference capabilities. An energy spectrum measurement system has been constructed, utilizing the dedicated thick-film integrated circuit developed in this paper, achieving an energy resolution of 6.2% at 662 keV for the 3-inch NaI(Tl) detector, and 3.0% at 662 keV for the 3-inch LaBr3(Ce) detector, and 4.5% at 59.5 keV for the 5mm×5mm quasi-hemispherical CZT detector. The energy spectrum measurement results indicate that the thick-film integrated circuit exhibits exceptional performance and possesses significant application potential within the domain of nuclear radiation detection.