GM Counter

 An instrument for measuring ionizing radiation used widely in applications such as radiation
dosimetry, radiological protection, experimental physics and the nuclear industry
 It detects ionizing radiation such as alpha particles, beta particles and gamma rays using the
ionization effect produced in a Geiger–Müller tube
 Geiger – Müller Counter is a gas filled type detector
 Gas molecules get ionized when an energetic charged particle passes through
 Electrons produced during ionization, if accelerated by high potential difference, can cause
further ionization of the gas molecules, thereby enhancing the signal
 GM Counter
GM Tube

 The Geiger-Müller tube is a hollow cylinder typically of length 15 – 20 cm and made of copper
 The tube is filled with inert gas, generally with argon gas, at a pressure round 10 cm of Hg with
10% of ethyl alcohol vapour
 GM tube is enclosed in an evacuated glass tube
 GM Counter
GM Tube
 A tungsten wire is fixed along the axis of the GM tube (insulated from tube)
 The wire is connected to the +ve terminal and metallic body of the GM tube to the –ve terminal
of a high-voltage source (few kV)
 A thin window (generally made of mica) at one end of the tube allows the radiation to enter the
tube
 GM Counter
Principle of Operation
 When an energetic charged particle enters GM tube through the mica window, the gas molecules
get ionized due to interaction with the incident charged particles
 The generated electrons get accelerated towards the central anode (the tungsten wire) & positive
ions towards the cathode (the wall of GM tube)
 The accelerated electrons on their path can cause ionization of the gas molecules, generating
large number of electrons within a very short time interval (avalanche)
 The avalanche gives rise to a detectable current pulse
 The pulse is amplified before it is converted into a TTL pulse
 The TTL pulse is fed into a counter
 For each particle entering the tube, successive current pulses are produced and counting is done
 GM Counter

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIsWy2q0hVc
 GM Counter
Plateau of GM counter
 Count rate (CR) of a GM counter is defined as the number of ion-counts per second
 The graph showing the variation of count rate with the anode voltage is called the characteristic
of the GM counter
 For low voltage, the counter operates in the ionization chamber region where there is no
amplification/avalanche. Detector signal is too small to process electronically
 A minimum voltage Vs, the threshold voltage is required for enabling the counter
 GM Counter
Plateau of GM counter
 As the voltage is increased beyond Vs, the gas
amplification sets in and output pulse size increases
gradually – this is proportional counting region
C D
where more and more low energy particles are
detected until the point C is reached.
 From the point C onwards, the counting rates
become almost constant. The portion CD is called
the plateau of the counter where the counter Vs

records the incident particles irrespective of their

energy. The GM counter is operated in this region
 GM Counter
Dead Time & Recovery Time
 During the working of a GM counter, the heavier +ve ions take larger time to reach the
cathode. The next particle can not be detected until the +ve ions reaches the detector or they
are neutralized
 The time interval between the production of the initial pulse and initiation of the second
Geiger discharge is defined as the dead time of the GM. It is usually ~50 to 100 μs.
 The actual resolving time of a counter is somewhat longer than the dead time, since a finite
pulse must develop before it can be counted by the counter circuit (two terms, however, often
interchangeable)
 The recovery time of the counter is defined as the time interval after which the counter
returns to its original state to produce the full sized pulse again
 GM Counter
Dead Time & Recovery Time

The tube can produce no further pulses during the dead time, and only produces pulses of
lesser height until the recovery time has elapsed
 GM Counter
True Count Rate
 The counter does not respond to all the ionizing events occurring in it for finite value of the
resolving time τ
 N = No. of particles that enter the GM tube per second
n = Count rate (the no. of particles actually counted per second). Obviously, n < N
The interval per second during which the counter does not respond = nτ
The number of particles incident within this interval = Nnτ = N – n

Nn  N  n
n
N True Count Rate
1  n
 GM Counter
Quenching
 Just on the completion of dead time the slow moving +ve ions reach the surface of the cathode
tube and get discharged there. As a result a current pulse is again generated, that gives an
indication, as if another particle has entered the GM tube, which is not the case in reality.
 A single particle, thus counted twice (one at the start & other at the end of the dead time interval)
 It is desirable that the +ve ions sheath around the central anode wire must be eliminated before
they reach the cathode tube.
 The process of eliminating undesired +ve ions sheath around the central anode wire in GM tube
is called quenching.
 Some halogen gas is introduced along with inert gas in GM tube for quenching.
 GM Counter
Limitations
 Because the output pulse from a GM tube is always the same magnitude regardless of the
energy of the incident radiation, the tube cannot differentiate between radiation types
 Inability to measure high radiation rates due to the "dead time" of the tube. This is an insensitive
period after each ionization of the gas during which any further incident radiation will not result in
a count, and the indicated rate is therefore lower than actual. Typically the dead time will reduce
indicated count rates above about 104 to 105 counts per second depending on the characteristic of
the tube being used
 GM Counter
Problem
1. A GM counter as a dead time of 400 μs. What is the true counting rate when the observed rate is
1000/minute? [CU – 2016]

Dead time   400 μs, Observed count rate n  1000 / minute

n 1000
True count rate N    1006.7 / minute
1  n 1  1000  400 10 / 60
6
 GM Counter
Problem
2. An organic quenched GM tube operates at 1 kV and has a wire of diameter 0.2 mm. The radius of the
cathode is 20 mm and the tube has warranted lifetime of 109 counts. What is the maximum radial field?
How long will the counter last if it is used on the average for 30 hours per week at 3000 counts per
minute? [CU – 2017]
V
The radial field Er 
b
r ln 
a
b  radius of the cathode  20 mm, a  radius of the anode  0.1 mm
For maximum field r  a  0.1 mm  104 m
V 103
Hence, the maximum radial field Er max    1.89  106 V
b  20 
a ln  104  ln 
a  0.1 
Total counts per week  3000 30  60  5.4  106
Total lifetime count  109
109
Hence, lifetime of the counter   185.19 weeks
5.4  106