Modelling the response of a CsI(Tl)-PiN photodiode Microscintillator Detector

The full instrument response of a superminiaturised CsI(Tl)-PiN photodiode radioactivity detector, intended for deployment on a meteorological radiosonde, has been modelled by combining a physics-based model of the sensor with the detector circuit response, obtained via an LTspice simulation. The model uses the incident energy of a gamma ray as an input, and produces the pulse expected from the detector. The detector response was verified by comparing the simulated energy calibration with a laboratory source. The measurement circuit is found to control the minimum detectable energy of 26 keV, and the maximum detectable energy is ~10 MeV. The energy sensitivity of the PiN detector is 0.29 ± 0.02 mV/keV in the 0–800 keV range. The simulation and laboratory calibrations were consistent to better than 5% over the calibration range of the instrument.