Self-calibrating proportional counter
US5180917A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 4, 1991 |
| Grant date | Jan 19, 1993 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 4, 2011 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01V5/10
- WIPO fieldEnvironmental technology
- WIPO sectorChemistry
Abstract
The invention relates to a method and an apparatus for qualifying the operation of a radiation (e.g. neutron) detector containing an ionizable gas (e.g. He.sub.3), such as a detector disposed in a logging sonde designed to be lowered in a well, wherein a radioactive source capable of ionizing said gas is disposed inside the detector. From the counts of the ionization pulses, one qualifies the operation of the detector. The method provides either a verification (usually performed before the logging operation, outside the well) or, when carried out while the detector is operating in the well, a stabilization of the measured spectrum. Preferably, the internal source is an alpha source comprising uranium or americium and which is disposed inside the detector in the form of a thin foil.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.