A Solid State Gamma Ray Dosimeter Which Measures Radiation in Terms of Absorption in a Material Different from the Detector Material.

A solid state gamma ray dosimeter is described radiation in terms of absorption in a material different from the detector material. A solid state detector, and amplifier, an analog-to-digital interface and a microprocessor are combined in circuit to correct for differences between absorption of radiation in detector material and absorption in other materials, especially tissue. A suitable cladding may surround the detector. A method of generating dose translation data for calibrating the microprocessor is also disclosed. The solid state detector is attached to a multichannel analyzer circuit and subject to known doses of various monochromatic gamma rays. Output pulses from the detector are amplified and introduced into the multichannel analyzer. The spectrum produced is used to determine an average channel number or pulse height for a given dose of monochromatic radiation. The given dose is in units specific to material different from the detector material. The partial dose represented by a single detector pulse at that energy is computed. Partial doses for other energies are likewise computed.