Method for calibrating scintillation crystal

摘要

An X-ray or gamma-ray scintillation crystal used in a radiation-type thickness gauge is calibrated by irradiating the scintillation crystal at a high intensity and then abruptly lowering the intensity to a low level (e.g. 1/100 the high intensity level). The nonlinear response of the crystal due to after-glow and hysteresis is periodically measured and correlated with an ideal (e.g. linear) response function. The radiation level is then increased to its former high intensity and periodic measurements are made of the nonlinear response of the crystal. The correlated values are stored, for example, in a computer memory as a table of time dependent correction factors. The stored values are used to correlate a measured signal from the scintillation crystal regardless of the radiation intensity and the hysteresis of the crystal and without having to wait for the "afterglow" to disappear in order to make subsequent measurements.