A method of testing the uniformity of planar radioactive α and β sources used in luminescence readers

Abstract In this work we describe a simple method for assessing the non-uniformity of planar α and β radioactive sources. In this method we put in contact the radioactive source with the scintillator. This causes a weak light to be emitted by the scintillator. Applying a CCD light matrix we take image sequences and process them with methods developed in astronomy for observing weak light emitters. Using this method, we investigate two β and two α sources dedicated to estimating the radiation dose absorbed in trapped charge dating. In this application radioactive source non-uniformity has significant practical implications. The applied method shows that one of the β sources and one of the α sources are non-uniform.