Radiation sensor can uncover materials in less than a second

The sensor, developed by Scandinavian research group, SINTEF, uses a silicon drift diode (SDD), which is the basic component of a number of instruments that are used in everything from medical X-ray systems to monitoring experiments at CERN. Another application is in art and archaeology, where the detector can identify which materials have been used and what they consist of.

‘The sensor consists of a double-sided microstructure that is fabricated on silicon wafers. Such structures are complex and difficult to produce. Today, we are one of only two or three suppliers of such sensors in the whole world,’ said Niaz Ahmed, a research scientist at SINTEF.

Although the tiny device measures no more than 8 x 8mm it takes eight weeks to produce, and the entire fabrication needs to take place in a super-clean environment.

The sensor uses spectroscopy, which involves sending light through a transparent object. When the light beam emerges from the other side of the object, the sensor reads off changes in its characteristics.