Application of a silicon surface barrier radiation detector for a radon measurement

Silicon surface barrier (SSB) radiation detectors with various electrode structures were designed and fabricated to detect radon with a high sensitivity. The main considerations for the electrode structures were a guard electrode to minimize the reverse-bias currents and the size of the active area to achieve a relatively high-resolution. Preliminary tests, such as I-V curves and a comparison of the energy resolutions in both air and vacuum with a standard alpha source, were performed with the fabricated SSB radiation detectors. Radon from a 5.6 Bq/g ²²⁶Ra in a soil sample, which was pre-tested at Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS), was measured with the SSB radiation detector as a preliminary test of radon detection.