Pulsed Geiger Tube Operation

It has been common practice since the inception of the Geiger tube radiation detector(1, 2) to energize it from a suitable source of constant potential. An inherent characteristic of the Geiger tube, when operated in this manner, in common with all gas discharge devices, is the intrinsic time for a discharge once initiated to become deionized following a counting event. This condition sets an upper limit to the count rate capacity for a given type of tube. Saturation effects occur when this state of operation is either approached or is exceeded. Extension of the radiation intensity measurement range therefore usually necessitates the use either of Geiger tubes with lowered sensitive volumes or their replacement with other detector devices more suitable for use in strong radiation fields.