Radiofrequency gaseous detection device (RF-GDD)

This invention pertains to the technical field of physical sciences and technology. A novel detector is disclosed which can be used with instruments generating ionising radiations in a gaseous environment. This detector can be used also for particle measurements such as in the field of nuclear methods and instruments. An alternating electromagnetic field in the radiofrequency range is applied in a gaseous environment (). Free electrons produced in the gas (), by an ionising source of radiation () or by interaction of a charged particle beam with a specimen, are acted upon by the alternating electromagnetic field and undergo an oscillatory motion resulting in multiple collisions with the gas molecules or atoms. Amplified electron and photon signals are generated in a controlled discharge, proportional to the initial number of free electrons, and are collected by suitable means (). The alternating field is generated either by electrodes () biased with an alternating voltage, or by a coil driven by an AC current, and may be superposed with a static electric field. The detection device may be used with instruments such as electron microscopes, in ion beam technologies, and with instruments used for detection of ionising radiations such as proportional counters.